Trinity and Religious Pluralism
In the inaugural issue of this journal, we argued that there is a major need for American evangelicals to engage in critical theological reflection on issues related to interfaith dialogue. Dr. Douglas McConnell’s paper “Missional Principles for Interfaith Dialogue” explored the relationship of interfaith dialogue to the larger mission that Christians make disciples of all nations. In this second issue of the journal, we examine another major issue related to interfaith dialogue—Christian responses to religious pluralism.
In his paper prepared for the advent of the centenary celebration of the Edinburgh Missionary Conference of 1910, Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen argues that the issue of religious plurality is the most urgent challenge the Church faces at the beginning of the twenty-first century, and as a result, necessitates critical Christian theological reflection.
Kärkkäinen affirms that while Christian theology and its respective ecclesiastical traditions do not speak uniformly in response to religious pluralism or what is called a theology of religions, the typology of exclusivism, inclusivism, and pluralism has commonly been used to navigate our religiously plural landscape. Kärkkäinen asserts that these categories are predicated on a “dynamic tension”—one that attempts to reconcile two juxtaposed biblical truths: that God wishes all people to be saved and that salvation is found only in Jesus Christ. Likewise, while acknowledging that the most foundational and least negotiable tenet of faith for all Christians is the trinitarian confession, Kärkkäinen acknowledges that the topic of the Trinity may not be the best starting point in an interfaith encounter. What is important for Kärkkäinen is that a theology of religions be grounded on a solid trinitarian understanding of the role and relationship between the Father, Son, and Spirit.
