Exclusivism

Christians take a Christo-centric position believing that they have the answer to this, in that, Jesus is the key to salvation.

The view that God became incarnate (flesh) in the form of Jesus, died for the sins of humanity, and then rose again, redeeming human nature, and opening a way for humans to be reconciled with God through the sacrifice of his life, is the core gospel message.

Issues arising from exclusivism

If Jesus is the centre of salvation, is he only represented by one denomination of the church (as the Catholics believe) or all denominations?

How can an omnibenevolent God allow those who have not heard of him through no fault of their own? Are there exceptions to be made?

As globalisation has made the world smaller, questions have been raised about the nature of one faith group having possession of 'the truth' rather than their being many 'truths' that lead to salvation.

Pious believers of other faith groups as well as moral individuals with no faith are condemned to hell according to the exclusive view, this does not sit right with the postmodern mindset, as such, the rise of the pluralist idea of salvation for all believers was born.

Some go even further and state all will gain salvation, as this is the only outcome that is befitting for an omnibenevolent God.

Alan Race

Exclusivism: encompasses views that state there is no salvation outside of the Christian faith.

Inclusivism: refers to those who believe and agree that Christianity is the key to salvation, but, think it might be possible for non- Christians to be saved by Christ, even if they do not recognize Christ as such.

Pluralism: the term used for views that hold that salvation can be achieved through many paths, truth and salvation can be found in many different religious traditions and contexts.

Exclusivism

Exclusivism is the view that Christianity offers the only means to salvation.

This view holds that Christ brought salvation to the world once and for all.

Only through hearing the gospel and responding to it by faith in Christ can a person be saved. For some Christians, this includes going through the rite of baptism and being cleansed of sin.

Salvation requires giving up one's old way of life and beginning a new one, centered on Christ and his church. Christ did not come simply to add another option to the many different routes to heaven, but, to provide a pathway to God that cannot otherwise be found.

Exclusivism is a traditional conservative viewpoint. Some people who hold this view prefer to use the term 'particularism' finding it less negative in tone than 'exclusivist'.

Biblical support:

'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life'(John 3:16)

Here the evangelist John is making it clear that salvation is only available to those who believe in Jesus.

'Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.' (Matthew 7:13-14)

Within the sermon on the mount, Jesus is making it clear that not all people will gain salvation, as only some will be able to access it.

'I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me' (John 14:6)

Jesus makes it clear through his I am sayings that the only way to the Father (who is in heaven and so represents salvation) is through him, putting himself front and center of the way to achieve salvation.

"There is salvation in no one else" (Acts 4:12)

Peter and John share this knowledge with the Sanhedrin, showing that they did not believe that there was any other way to salvation other than through Jesus.

'...we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all' Hebrews 10:10

Types of exclusivism:

Narrow exclusivist

Some Christians believe that salvation is only available to Christians who are members of their own particular denominations.

D'Costa

As well as scripture there are some controlling beliefs that D'Costa highlights as central to the Catholic belief these include:

• Sola Christus: Salvation through Christ alone - "There is salvation in no one else" (Acts 4:12)
• Extra ecclesia nulla salus: There is no salvation outside of the Church – The Catholic church believes it has authority due to its apostolic succession in leadership, the Church is the place where individuals can partake in the sacraments (outside sign or an inward grace) of baptism and the eucharist.
• These are physical representations of the salvation that they have received through God's grace.
• Fides ex auditu: Faith comes from hearing the Gospel – only the gospel is the truth to enlighten humanity to salvation.

Pope Paul VI holds that whilst it is important to be respectful and non- judgemental of non-Christian religions, these religions lack the necessary controlling beliefs as defied by the Catholic church and cannot lead to salvation, he referred to other faiths as having a "ray of truth."

This view has been upheld recently by Dominus Iesus (Roman catholic declaration 2001) which reinforces that the Catholic church is the one true church of Christ (unicity).

Exam tip: You can use this as an example to show how ingrained this view is within the Catholic church or the negative side of such a view.

Restrictive access exclusivists:

They believe that salvation is only for those who hear and respond to the gospel in their earthly lives. From those people, God will decide who will be saved. Those that have been saved are known as the elect. Broad exclusivism:

Within exclusivist, there is the broader view that all people who accept Christ through faith are saved, regardless of the Church they belong to or, the style of worship that they prefer.

Broad exclusivists argue that scripture does not make a distinction between those who will gain salvation only faith does, as such, we should not make a distinction either.

They will use the passage stated above to support his idea along with 'the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes' Roman 1:16. This idea is in line with unlimited election (see the death and the afterlife revision guide)

Hendrik Kraemer

• Dutch theologian who focuses his ideas on Missiology (mission work)
• Kraemer argued that God's revelation can be seen by others outside of the Christian faith, they can understand the existence and creativity of God through reason and observations of beauty in nature.
• Kraemer was very influential for Christian missionaries and emphasized that regardless of how well-meaning non-Christians might be, they cannot achieve salvation through their own faith systems and must convert.
• He argued that you have to consider religions in their entirety and not simply pick out the beliefs and practices that other religions share.
• It is not enough for non-Christian communities to also adopt the behaviors supported by Christian teachings, they must also accept the Christian message in order to be saved.

Karl Barth

• Barth rejects the idea of knowing God through natural theology and argues that God cannot be found through human efforts, God can only be known through Christ.
• Barth can be used to support broad exclusivism.
• Barth does, however, believe that God is free to do whatever he chooses and can reveal himself through anything, famously stating 'even a dead dog', suggesting that God could be revealed through non-Christian religions too.
• This could open the possibility of God revealing himself through other religions, which would make his views in line with structural inclusivism (See below)

Another form of Broad exclusivism is universal-access exclusivists:

They are those who believe that God's salvation is offered to all and it is the will of God that everyone should come to love him.

God wills everyone to gain salvation, even those who have not heard the gospel, however they will also need to believe.

So, those who have not heard the gospel in this world would show their faith by living a moral life as all people have a sensus divinitatus (Calvin) or can follow the moral law within themselves (Aquinas natural law).

Strengths of Exclusivism

• It maintains a Christo-centric position which most Christians would count as imperative within their beliefs, and holds value for most Christian believers
• Exclusivism is the approach the St Paul & the disciples took during the time of the early church as seen in Acts. It has the benefit of taking an approach that if followed can be classed as following the apostolic succession in Christian dogma.
• A True Christian understands the gift they have and want to share it as their duty, it was directed by Jesus in the great commission.
• Christians should not be ashamed to hold onto the idea of salvation through Jesus.
• Christians do not need to worry about being politically correct, it is only Western liberalism that requires the need to not offend.
• Salvation of people is the most important aspect. - This is the cost of being a Christian (cost of discipleship- Bonhoeffer)
• William Lane Craig, an exclusivist, proposed to overcome the difficulty of the inculpably ignorant not gaining salvation by suggesting that God knows the heart so knows what someone would have chosen in different circumstances.

Weaknesses of Exclusivism

• Bertrand Russell shows that the true weakness of exclusivism is that there is no truth in any religion, so none can provide salvation. 'I think all the great religions of the world...[are] both untrue and harmful.
• It is evident as a matter of logic that, since they disagree, not more than one of them can be true.'
• It is seen as being hostile, ignorant, and elitist, some would equate this view to extremist views found within churches like Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), an American church known for its use of inflammatory hate speech.
• Sending people to eternal hell who have not heard the gospel message seems inconsistent with a loving and just God
• Roman Catholic's view of the 'Ray of Truth' could be seen as being more inclusive than exclusive.
• What about those who lived before Jesus who could not have responded to the gospel, because it had not happened yet, therefore it is inconsistent with a benevolent and just God that they are punished for this. Particularly people like Moses, Abraham, and Job. Or those who are living in other countries who have not heard of Jesus.