Exclusivism – the view that only Christianity offers the complete means of salvation.
Jesus says “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.”
Narrow Exclusivists argue that salvation is only for some, not all Christians.
Augustine taught that God has already predestined which Christians are going to heaven. People
cannot influence God’s decision as this would make humans more powerful than God.
Due to the fall, humans are sinful and therefore nobody deserves to be saved; it is evidence of God’s
great love and mercy that he allows anyone at all to achieve salvation. This is how exclusivists justify
the fact that some people have never had the opportunity to meet Jesus or have the Christian
message explained to them.
Calvin similarly believed in predestination. God is in absolute control over everything that happens
and has foreknowledge of all time and therefore God would have to choose the destiny of each
human life before it began. No one could randomly surprise God by joining the Christian faith or
reject God when he had expected otherwise.
Revelation: “Before me was the Lamb of God, and with him were 144,000 who had his name written
on their foreheads.”
Biblicists believe that only “Bible believing Christians can be saved” and reject the notion that more
liberal Christians will also be saved.
The Catholic Church before Vatican II taught that there was no salvation outside of the Church – a
person must be baptised and live a faithful Catholic life if they are to be in with a chance of going to
heaven. This excludes all other Christian denominations.
Broad exclusivists argue that all who accept Christ through faith are saved, whatever their
denomination.
Since the 1960s, the Catholic Church has acknowledged that other denominations and religions hold
‘many elements of sanctification and of truth’. However, that the full expression of truth (and
salvation) can only be found in the Catholic Church itself.
Universal-access exclusivists, like Gavin D’Costa, believed that Jesus’ salvation is for all humanity
and that by the will of God everyone should come to love him. Many draw attention to the
possibility of salvation after death. (In a way this is more tolerant than Inclusivism which shuts the
door on people who reject Christ.)
Timothy: “God our saviour wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
- God cannot be seen as loving if he condemns people to hell who never encountered the
Christian message, or had no freedom to pursue it.
- The Bible suggests that people are judged based on their actions (e.g the Sheep and the
Goats) not their faith.
- In the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, the Rich Man sees Abraham with God and
Lazarus in heaven, despite him not being a Christian.
One could argue that knowledge of God does not come exclusively from Christianity and that there
are other sources of truth and spirituality.
, Karl Bath disagreed. He believed that people cannot know God through their own efforts, but only
when he chooses to reveal himself; through Jesus, Bible and Church. God cannot be found through
human efforts, leading good lives etc, or through any other religions without Christ.
Many might point out practices and beliefs in other religions that are similar to Christianity. Aspects
of Christianity have seeped into all faiths and therefore provide a partial truth.
Kraemer strongly believed that non-Christians could not achieve salvation through their own faith
system but have to convert to Christianity. It does not make sense to look at other religions and pick
out the beliefs and practices that seem to be the most Christian, like points of contact. Kraemer
argued that religions must be considered as a whole, not piece by piece. There is no ‘partial truth’ to
be found in other religions, only the truth of salvation offered by Christ in Christianity.
Inclusivism – the view that although Christianity is the normative means of salvation, those who
accept its central principles ‘anonymous Christians’ may also receive salvation.
They agree that Jesus’ death and resurrection were unique events of cosmic significance for
salvation. However, they are uncomfortable with the idea that a loving God would always reject
someone who was sincerely trying to follow God through the context of a different religion.
Some inclusivists think that the end of human life is not the end of opportunities to hear and
respond to the gospel. Perhaps God gives people a chance, after death, to repent and turn to him.
- This is basically just universal-access exclusivism.
Many inclusivists adopt the idea that God’s omnibenevolence leaves open a possibility of salvation
even for non-Christians. They suggest that non-Christian religions hold a degree of truth; the works
of Christ found in other religions, even though people might not recognise it as such. For example,
when Sikhs share free food at their place of worship with the poor, they could be doing the work of
Christ in feeding the hungry without realising it.
Karl Rahner claims that Christianity is the one true religion, the ‘absolute’ or normative religion
because of Jesus. However, he points out that an absolute viewpoint seems to exclude salvation
from anyone who lived before Jesus came to Earth, and anyone who has not had the opportunity to
hear about Christ. For Rahner, this exclusion was not compatible with an omnibenevolent God.
- Rahner used examples of figures from the Old Testament such as Abraham and Moses who
had genuine faith and dedication to God, despite being unaware of the revelation of God
through Christ. They do not call themselves Christian, have not been baptised, do not go to
Church or read the Bible but ‘anonymous Christians’ can still be saved.
Rahner argued that God is able to offer salvation to those who, through no fault of their own, have
not been able to respond to the Christian message. He thought that there could be partial truth in
other world religions, whose followers did not know about Jesus. However, once a person
encounters the Christian message and the salvation offered by Christ, they can accept or reject it.
There would no longer be any excuse for rejecting the gospel.
- Inclusivism balances the unique Christ-event and the idea that a loving God would want to
save people. It also conforms to Biblical ideas that the Jewish people were chosen by God
and therefore presumably saved, and passages like the Sheep and the Goats which suggest
salvation is based on our actions, not beliefs.
- It undermines the work of those who have given their lives for the Christian faith;
missionaries and preachers throughout history.
