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| Four Views on Salvation in a Pluralistic World | 
 enlarge | Author: Alister E. Mcgrath
Creators: Dennis L. Okholm, Timothy R. Phillips, John Hick, R. Douglas Geivett, W. Gary Phillips, Stanley N. Gundry
Publisher: Zondervan
Category: Book
List Price: $17.99
Buy New: $8.83
You Save: $9.16 (51%)
New (25) Used (20) from $7.90
Avg. Customer Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 81360
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0310212766
Dewey Decimal Number: 261.2
UPC: 025986212766
EAN: 9780310212768
ASIN: 0310212766
Publication Date: August 19, 1996
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New! Christian family owned business, we sell 100% Christian books. **Shows signs of shelf wear**
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| Customer Reviews:
Christianity has many aspects May 21, 2005
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
The world we live in is characterized by diversity and a clamoring for equality. Our pluralistic society seeks to hear the voices of all its components without one drowning out another. The challenge of engaging this society has forced Christianity to rethink its positions so as to either change or to at least clearly articulate its beliefs in order to communicate to a multifaceted society. An overview of this change/articulation is found in the book Four Views on Salvation in a Pluralistic World.
The first perspective discussed is normative religious pluralism, or what some might call `Christian pluralism.' The person defending this position is its leading advocate, John Hick. He begins by relating how he eventually rejected his conservative upbringing and came to hold his present theological stance. His position is that each major world religion (Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism) provides a sufficient way of salvation, independent of any other religion. For him, the god of each religion is the `Ultimate Reality,' an awareness that is different for each religion. Hick's main arguments in support of Christian pluralism are: (1) no particular religion can claim moral superiority over other religions and hence cannot claim to be the one true religion; and (2) he asks wherein lies the love and grace of the Christian God if most of the human race is lost due to nothing more than the `bad luck' of being born in societies that have never heard the gospel? Hick reinforces his view by pointing out that Jesus could not have been divine. The picture we have in the gospels of a supernatural Jesus is simply a creation of the early church; this argument is similar to the proposal put forth by the Jesus Seminar.
Another perspective is that of particularism, which is actually divided into two different views. The idea of particularism is more in line with the traditional Christian position that salvation is grounded only in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, there have developed two similar but different strands of particularism. The first is called `hard restrictivism.' This view holds that only those who explicitly profess faith in Jesus Christ will be saved. This position is promoted by two authors, R. Douglas Geivett and W. Gary Phillips. This duo offers the most detailed Biblical examination of any view in the book and they argue that the Bible is clear that salvation cannot be found in anyone else other than Christ. They uphold the orthodox belief that Jesus is divine and the final revelation of God. Alongside hard restrictivism is the position of Alister McGrath, who advocates `optimistic agnostic particularism' (where agonistic does not mean that a person is unsure about the existence of God but that one is unable to say for sure that God can only save if Christ is explicitly believed in). McGrath's point is that he cannot say with certainty there is no hope for those who do not hear the gospel of Christ. He holds the same position as Geivett/Phillips regarding the deity of Christ; however, where McGrath differs from them is that he is not convinced God is `prevented' from saving those who never hear the good news of Jesus Christ. He holds this position all the while refraining from claiming the certainty of God's saving grace in the non-Christian world as held by Hick and Pinnock (see below).
The last view, proposed by Clark Pinnock, is somewhat of a via media, a middle way. The inclusivist view rejects the universalism of Hick and the particuarlism of McGrath and Geivett/Phillips. For Pinnock, God's presence is everywhere in the world, and hence his accompanying grace is preparing others outside the church for acceptance of the gospel of Christ. He follows the tone set by the Second Vatican Council and adds a point by telling the reader that inclusivism upholds the position that salvation is ultimately found in Christ, even if such knowledge may only be discovered by an individual after death. Also, Pinnock points out that his theology avoids the `dark features' of particularism, which `restrict' God's salvation to only a select minority, one fortunate enough to have heard the gospel.
The format of the book is straightforward. The editors open with an introduction that profiles the contributors to the book, as well as discuses their respective views. Following the introduction are four chapters, each containing an examination of one the four views of salvation. Each chapter contains five sections. The opening part is a discussion and defense of a particular view. This part is followed by the response of each of the proponents of the other views. The chapter concludes with a rebuttal by the scholar who opened the chapter. There is an index.
On the positive side, the reader will find in one source a good cross section of current trends in Christian theology. Pluralism, in a general sense, is a fact of life today and Christianity has felt its impact. The reader will be introduced to the main points of the entire spectrum of Christian thought in a point-counter point fashion Several technical terms (e. g., general revelation and special revelation) will be fleshed out in detail (though terms such as god, religion, and salvation will never be agreed on). Also, if one is interested in the debate between liberal and conservative scholarship, this book will help. Not to be overlooked is the helpful footnotes, both in terms of sources and explanations.
On the downside, there is much repetition in the book, for when the contributors respond to the others, they often quote verbatim from other parts of the book. The editors could have helped the reader by at least citing the page from which the quote was taken. The index does little to help, as it is not in the familiar form of alphabetized by topic, but grouped under a particular view. And (not of the fault of the editors) there is often personal attacks made by one writer on another. While one expects sharp disagreement between people who passionately hold to personal positions (and what is more passionate and personal than religious beliefs?), I am not sure it speaks well of Christianity to have criticism of an argument develop into ad hominem or personal insult.
Overall, this work is a four star book that will enlighten, if not entertain, the reader.
 Counterpoint Series November 15, 2004
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I'm going to apply this commentary for the entire Counterpoint Series published by Zondervan Publishing Company. My compliments to that company for creating this series. I initially purchased "Four Views on the Book of Revelation" but soon realized it was only one in a series. I got so much out of that volume, that I decided to purchase the entire set to study and keep for reference. My spiritual growth has been remarkable as a result. Seminary students and professionals would probably enjoy this series, which seems geared for them. But this series is also excellent for those college-educated laypeople who feel inclined to enhance their understanding of Christian theology. That is, with one caveat: Buy a decent theological dictionary to refer to at first. It probably won't get used much after about the third book you choose to read, but initially you will be need it to be confident of some of the terms used among advanced theologians. Then, the Counterpoint series will give you a full understanding of many different concepts and concerns of the Christian faith which have been applicable from early on until the present. I've learned a lot, and the only way I think I could do better is if I were enrolled in Seminary. A list of all the titles I am aware of from this series is:
Are Miraculous Gifts for Today?
Five Views on Law and Gospel
Five Views on Sanctification
Four Views on Hell
Four Views on Salvation in a Pluralistic World
Four Views on the Book of Revelation
Three Views on Creation and Evolution
Three Views on the Millennium and Beyond
Three Views on the Rapture
Two Views on Women in Ministry
Still Fun To Read May 28, 2003
0 out of 7 found this review helpful
I like all the differing views. While I am a conservative, I like the other points of view. This series is usually good for exposing differing views.
Good on the Who?, ignores, What?, How? and Why? November 17, 2002
7 out of 10 found this review helpful
I was somewhat disappointed in this particular book, since I was hoping it would deal with what salvation means (Saved from what?) and how people are saved. Instead, it focuses exclusively on who may be saved.Without a good understanding of the meaning of salvation, it is hard to be confident about who it may or may not apply to. However, the WHO question seems to be of more concern than the WHAT, WHY and HOW questions to most people interested in questions of salvation.
 OK August 9, 2002
24 out of 25 found this review helpful
This is book is part of Zondervan's Counterpoints series. According to the editors of this work, the purpose is to bring Christian thinkers together to discuss the question of the salvation of non-Christians. The contributors are: (1) John Hick, advocating pluralism; (2) Clark Pinnock advocating inclusivism; (3) Alister McGrath advocating a somewhat exclusivistic position; and (4) R. Douglas Geivett & W. Gary Phillips advocating exclusivism.As is often the case with this series, the book suffers from poor editing. All of the essays are worth reading, but they generally don't deal with the alleged topic of the book. For example, Prof. Hick tells us that he believes in universal salvation and that he has written a book arguing for this position, but he doesn't give his reasons in the essay. Prof. McGrath touches on the issue, but not in any great detail. Prof. Pinnock deals with the topic in a limited manner. It is only Profs. Geivett & Philips who actually go into the question in some detail. They provide an exegesis of Acts 4:12 and some other passages. However, none of the other contributors responds with any detailed exegesis. What is often seen as the key passage concerning the salvation of non-believers -- Romans 2 -- is only mentioned in passing. So, this book is really a discussion of religious pluralism, not salvation. In spite of my criticism, I think this book is helpful to anyone who wants a background on the general issue of religious pluralism. If you are looking for a discussion of evangelical views of the salvation of non-believers, then this isn't the place to look.
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