1. Hick on religous pluralism & grading religions ~ sllide 1 John Hick’s religious pluralism & on grading religions zWhat is common among all religions? â1. A response to the Ultimate or the Real â2. A transformation of the person responding - variously called, liberation, salvation, enlightenment â3. But whatever it is called, it is essentially a movement from self- centredness to Reality-centredness ( 2 nd ed, 561).

2. Hick on religous pluralism & grading religions ~ sllide 2 John Hick’s religious pluralism & on grading religions zIf accept this, ought to accept pluralism âHick’s name for the position that all of the major religions contain truth and that no one is more true or a better path to salvation than another

3. Hick on religous pluralism & grading religions ~ sllide 3 John Hick’s religious pluralism & on grading religions âThe stumbling block for Christians to the acceptance of pluralism -- the Incarnation yHick’s proposal for overcoming this: degree Christologies äWhenever the activity of God’s spirit is active in human lives, a kind of incarnation is taking place

4. Hick on religous pluralism & grading religions ~ sllide 4 John Hick’s religious pluralism & on grading religions âWhat, then, is the explanation for the differences among religions? yCulture - people respond differently to the Ultimate because of differences in culture yAnd the gap between the Reality as it is in itself & human expressions of this Reality

5. Hick on religous pluralism & grading religions ~ sllide 5 John Hick’s religious pluralism & on grading religions âPluralism assumes a general theory of religion âA proposal for such a general theory

6. Hick on religous pluralism & grading religions ~ sllide 6 John Hick’s religious pluralism & on grading religions â1. All the great religious traditions affirm that in addition to the natural world there is a greater and higher Reality beyond or within it â2. Our highest good resides in this higher Reality â3. This Ultimate Reality is one â4. Our final salvation consists in giving ourselves freely & totally to this One

7. Hick on religous pluralism & grading religions ~ sllide 7 John Hick’s religious pluralism & on grading religions â5. The Ultimate exceeds the reach of our speech & thought yIs a difference between the Ultimate Reality an sich & as humanly experienced -- mentions Immanuel Kant (German, 1724-1804) yHence we always encounter the Ultimate in specific cultural forms

8. Hick on religous pluralism & grading religions ~ sllide 8 John Hick’s religious pluralism & on grading religions zComments â1. Is Hick emphasizing the transcendence & otherness of God at the expense of knowing God? â2. Is Hick’s concept of the Divine so general and so vague that this is not a God we can worship or pray to or wish to establish a relationship with?

9. Hick on religous pluralism & grading religions ~ sllide 9 John Hick’s religious pluralism & on grading religions zJohn Hick on grading religions zJohn Hick. “On Grading Religions.” Religious Studies 17: 4 (1981): 451-467. âInitially, the idea of grading religions seems repulsive to the modern mind. âBut it is necessary. Why? âAnd there is a history of distinctions within religions between more authentic and less authentic ways of living the religion.

10. Hick on religous pluralism & grading religions ~ sllide 10 John Hick’s religious pluralism & on grading religions âOne commonality among religions is a soteriology in a broad sense yA theory about the flawed character of present existence & a movement to a more perfect existence; a theory of salvation/liberation äunity with God äthe infinite being-consciousness- bliss of Brahman änirvana or sunyata

11. Hick on religous pluralism & grading religions ~ sllide 11 John Hick’s religious pluralism & on grading religions yNow the general character of each of these theories of salvation/liberation is äa movement from “self- centredness to Reality- centredness” (69) yWe have two tools for grading religions: Reason & moral judgments.

12. Hick on religous pluralism & grading religions ~ sllide 12 John Hick’s religious pluralism & on grading religions äReason -- critically evaluate from a purely rational perspective the basic beliefs of a religion åThe weakness of this approach -- beliefs are based on experience & experiences vary widely äMoral test -- this is a pragmatic text and is workable.

13. Hick on religous pluralism & grading religions ~ sllide 13 John Hick’s religious pluralism & on grading religions åWe can ask: Does the religion bring about a transformation in persons from self- centredness to Reality- centredness? This is looking at the visible fruits of the religious tradition.

14. Hick on religous pluralism & grading religions ~ sllide 14 John Hick’s religious pluralism & on grading religions zComment âIs eschewing religious doctrines leaving out a central element of religion, one often used as the basis of the religion’s moral position?