INTERFAITH PLURALISM

Interfaith Pluralism

Interfaith Pluralism

Introduction

Everyone plays his music way of heaven, says an old Chinese proverb. The content of this wisdom is not only legitimate but also something quite beautiful and creative by music heaven, we can well understand the signs, traces and manifestations of God living and true to the length and breadth of the history of mankind. Of course, in the bottom of this oriental adage, we can also sense the possibility of a resignation subjective and individualistic confined to a religious experience in itself, which ultimately makes it irrelevant for others.

But do not contradict the recognition of a plural interpretation of signs and manifestations of God with the possibility of finding ways and means convergence tending towards unity? Is it possible to be sincere Christian, accepting the validity of Christ's sole and absolute coexistence in open, positive and nurturing relationship with other forms and expressions of religion? How to learn to live positively and creatively in a society that is increasingly religiously plural? What is divine truth and salvation in other religious experiences?

Discussion

Current theology considers all these issues of paramount importance. Just this year Congress passed the German-speaking theologians, specialists in fundamental theology and dogmatic theology (days that are celebrated in a while every year), which was held in Freising (Germany) in late September (1994) has focused on the concept of a pluralist theology of religions.

The question raised by the theologian and philosopher of religion E.Troeltscn (1865-1923) in his treatise The absolute nature of Christianity and the history of religions (1912), again a question of great relevance, since beginning of the century if present, coexistence and understanding among the religions was a fact of little relevance today large non-Christian religions such as Islam, Buddhism or Hinduism, are present in one form or another throughout the Western world (Kazanjian & Laurence, 2000). But not only the great religions, but also many other forms or expressions of religion, non-institutionalized many of them have a very significant presence in Western society. Consider, for example, the presence in many sectors are having the movement New Age, or the profusion of religious sects which try to offer a global response to the problems of life, outside the scope of organized religions (Schipani & Bueckert, 2009).

The theological discussion about religion, it has developed in the post-conciliar years especially in the Anglo-Saxon and the discussion has been focused, of course, in the idea and the possibility ...