Pluralism presents many contradictions both in it’s attempt to understand and explain the soteriology of Christianity and also in it’s attempt for any type of explanation of the premises of other world religions. Biblical Christianity is much more rare today than polls and politicians would assert. This notion can be taken as an absolute based on a multitude of differentials however, lets just observe that one of the largest proponents of pluralism (Hick) claims to be a rationally thinking Christian. But his claims and supposed evidences fall short of anything foundationally Biblical as seen within the following definition.
Pluralism: The claim that all world religions and ideals are equally correct. That each of these religions have an idea of a god that in the end, is the same god as in every other religion. That no religion is greater than another and none holds the truth for all men, but rather each one merely holds truth for those who believe in that particular sect.
Our primary focus is on the idea of Christ’s sacrifice and propitiation as it starkly contrasts the foundations of pluralism. Christ came to set captivity captive and to set the captives free (Ephesians 4:8). Jesus’ existence on this earth as both God and man (while mind-blowing) is not enough to purchase our redemption, Christ gave himself as propitiation for our sins and through his sacrifice He has redeemed us. Pluralism would have us believe that our faith in the Godhead and our redemption through His blood is enough for our salvation, much the same way that the ‘theology’ of Mormonism brings them to redemption. That our God isn’t God alone. However, this very idea isn’t conducive with the scripture that pluralism lets us use for our “salvation.” Acts 4:12 states, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Are we to take the principles of scripture that allow for our salvation through Christ and ignore the principles that say there is no other means to salvation? Since pluralism, in and of itself is completely contradictory, believers in that system of thought also seem to expect Christians to embrace contradiction as opposed to the clear understandability of the Gospel.
What Hick has failed to realize is that the entire basis of Christianity is the exclusivity of it. You cannot under any uncertain terms be a Bible believing Christian while also believing that people who don’t believe solely in Christ for salvation can go to heaven. The premise of our faith is that it alone is the sole truth of any region, any race and any gender. If you reject even one iota of the Gospel, you reject it as a whole; that is why the very idea of pluralism cannot fit into Christianity at all, that is why Christianity cannot logically fit into pluralism. That is why it is impossible for a true Christian to believe in and advocate for pluralism because it completely contradicts the very foundations of our faith.
