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God Has Many Names

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This is one of the first books I read after moving from Christianity to agnosticism to a more theistic worldview. John Hick is one of the leading philosophers promoting the idea that all axial (major) religions are valid paths to god as well as many lesser known belief systems. Being that his audience is mainly composed of Christians or influenced by Christian culture, Hick focuses on Christian exclusivists (those who believe in only one way to God and that being Christianity) must overcome their confining worldview in light of the fact Christianity has failed to bring about the Kingdom of God; we're no better than other cultures and sometimes worse. Anyone wishing to defend an exclusivistic path should read this or any of the other books among Hick's publications. Anyone thinking Christianity might be wrong in it's traditional approach should also read this book to discover a new, valid approach. As Paul said, "...when I became an adult, I put away childish things."

As a leading apologist for religious pluralism, Hick in this book profusely offers sound proof for the case. The erudite philosopher diligently gathers a bundle of psalms, scriptures and theologies from the world's monotheistic religions, concluding convincingly that all ways worshiping the Creator,or First Cause, or Eternal Being have congenial essence and each one reflects its own cultural influence on the perception of the Supreme Being.

Very well done, Mr Hick. This book seems less verbose than his other marvelous work "Metaphor of God Incarnate" but more knowledge-oriented.

Depending on where your faith is placed, this book will be one of your favorites or heretical!! Because pluralism speaks to me, it is one of the most enlightening books I have ever read. I believe God is real and found in many "forms". As Hicks quotes from the Bhagavad-Gita......."Howsoever men may approach me, even so do I accept them; for, on all sides, whatever path they may choose is mine".

This book provides an excellent overview of Hick's Pluralistic Theology of Religions - accessible to the general public. Whether you agree or disagree with Hick's pluralistic conclusions, the philosophical grounding of his arguments against Christian exclusivism have set the stage for over 50 years of continued debate and dialogue on the subject. I recommend this book for anyone interested in the phenomenon of religious diversity, questions about conflicting religious truth claims, the possibility of salvation beyond any given religious tradition, religious pluralism, and many other areas to which John Hick is an internationally recognized author and scholar.

Note: For a more thorough presentation of Hick's pluralistic theology of religions, see John Hick "An Interpretation of Religion". An Interpretation of Religion: Human Responses to the Transcendent, Second Edition

I would first like to comment on the structure of the book, then take a look at a few of Hick's arguments. Finally, I'll mention a little about what I thought over all.

Structure:
I was really excited to read this book. I've read many articles but never a book on religious pluralism. I know John Hick is considered an authority on the subject as well, so I was anticipating a good read. However, I came to notice that the book became increasingly disorganized half way through the book. I don't mean to say that the transitions between chapters were incoherent; but rather thoughts mid-paragraph changed subjects and questions raised were not answer.

Arguments:
Its noted that Hick calls these arguments "theories" and "hypotheses." However, if we are going to at all take him seriously, its necessary to examine these beliefs as if he does, in fact, believe them.
(1) The unoriginal argument of religion's conditioning based upon geographical status, socio-economic status, etc. is deeply flawed and I thought Hick would have offered a more rigorous support for this claim than he did in his book. For example, to say that a person is a Christian because he/she was born in the West and that if that individual were born in, say, Morocco, he/she would have been Muslim is a principle that goes for the pluralist as well, if we are at all to take this argument seriously. That is, if the pluralist were born in Morocco, he/she would also most likely be Muslim. This argument doesn't work--in this simplistic form that Hick offered at least (pg. 74).
(2) Hick makes that argument that religious experience is one that reveals a part of Reality's (the transcendent force that some call God, or gods) character. Now, he does manage to defend his position in saying that where religions differ in religious experience is simply an "image" of seeing Reality; thus, the more perspectives of religious experience we have, the more complete picture of Reality we have. He also manages to state that the conflicting points among religions only seem to be conflicting. In reality, they do not reflect contradictions of religious experience per se because they are religious experiences on different levels. However, then, my question is how, with Hick's pluralism, one is able to confront the issue of religious experience that communicates to the individual the invalidity, falsity, and heresy of another person's religious experience (I Kings 18:20-40). I believe that instances such as these, which can be found in the teachings of many religions, discount Hick's argument--or at least suspend it until his theory is further developed.

Thoughts
For brevity's sake, I will conclude by saying that if Hick's thoughts (that Jesus was a metaphorical figure which was only used by ancient philosophy and religion to lead us to the transcendent Reality) reflects his own heart, Hick is not a Christian by the Bible's standards (Ex. 32; Is. 2:6,8; Jer. 51; Luke 24:36-39; John 3:16; John 14:6; Rom. 3:26; Rom. 8:29; I Cor. 8:6; I Tim. 2:5; I John 2:23; II John 9).

If you're looking for a book that likes to bash orthodox Christianity, rejects the historical person of Jesus Christ (the God-man), and advocates the view that God can be some impersonal entity then this book is for you. It is obvious that Hick has an agenda in this book: orthodox Christianity is not helping the cause for the creation of a Marxist-Leninist utopian world, thus, needs to be deconstructed to something that doesn't resemble Christianity at all. His main argument is that people of various religions experience the same "God" but do so differently because of their social, cultural, and geographical environment. Thus, YHWH is basically the same person (or entity, according to Hick) as let's say the Norse god Odin experienced differently. If this is not blasphemy, I don't know what is. He, thus, thinks that a Christian can work together in harmony with an Odinist, Hercules worshipper, Shintoist, Baalist, animist, etc. for the creation of a Marxist-Leninist paradise on earth. Hick is one guy who is angry at orthodox Christianity and wants to do something about it. It is obvious he is not working within the Christian paradigm but against it. In fact, he rarely quotes from Scripture to back up his points - which is no surprise, since Scripture does not support his outrageous claims. Jesus told his disciples in John 14:6 that he is "the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (NIV). Since Jesus said this, I can only believe that his words are true. If you are looking for good books on religious pluralism from an orthodox Christian perspective I suggest you get James R. Edwards' "Is Jesus the Only Savior?" and Ronald H. Nash's book with the exact same title. These books will surely demonstrate to you that soteriological pluralism is full of untruth.