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An Introduction to the Theology of Religions: Biblical, Historical & Contemporary Perspectives

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In this recent contribution to the growing literature on Christian theology of religions, Fuller Seminary (USA) Professor Veli-Matti Karkkainen sets for himself an ambitious agenda. He wants to "look more closely at the pilgrimage of the Christian church" vis-à-vis its response to other faiths (27). Retaining a "neutral" posture, he wants to present material from the Bible, church history, and from the contemporary theological scene. As such, his work aims to be a compendium of Christian opinions and attitudes formulated through interaction with religious plurality. That Karkkainen generally succeeds is without question. An Introduction to the Theology of Religions is a well-written and very useful resource for anyone engaging this field. Due to its encyclopedic nature, it would be tedious to review the entire book. Therefore, this review will highlight some positive features and offer a few criticisms.

First, particularly helpful is Karkkainen's ability to summarize the views of major thinkers in just a few pages. His selection of major contemporary thinkers reads like a who's-who in the field: Farquhar, Barth, Kraemer, Rahner, Dupuis, D'Costa, Tillich, Pannenberg, Newbigin, Pinnock, Hick, Knitter, Netland and many others. Happily, however, Karkkainen does not limit himself to western thinkers like these. He also recognizes the richness of South Asian perspectives, and thus includes MM Thomas, Raymond Panikkar, Stanley Samartha, and Vinoth Ramachandra. In each case he is able to present the views of each thinker in 5-12 pages. These summaries present the views of the thinker in question without comment.

Second, also noteworthy are the sections throughout the book in which Karkkainen engages in "critical reflections and questions." While the author is careful to maintain the book's character as "descriptive, and...not prescriptive" (168), his probing insights and questions enable the reader to engage in critical reflection for him- or herself. This is a sound pedagogical technique. For example, at the end of his look at the biblical "raw material" (35), he guides the reader through such biblical tensions as, "How do we reconcile the apparent exclusivism with the universality of the concept of the biblical God?, What does the...unique...role of Jesus in salvation mean to those who have never heard the gospel?..." (51). At the end of his look at "Ecclesiastical Approaches" a section which highlights official positions from the Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Churches, Mainline Protestant Churches, and the Ecumenical and Evangelical Movements, he makes this astute observation: "there are two giants among ecclesiastical opinions: the Roman Catholic Church's inclusivism and the quite exclusivistic stance held by evangelical, Pentecostal...and other...churches. Pluralism governs the academy, but in the pews these two other views tend to predominate" (160).

Third, in a central chapter, Karkkainen rightly draws our attention to the "all-important role of the Enlightenment" (90). With its questioning of traditional beliefs, its focus on the autonomous reason, its doubt in the supernatural, and its subjectivist approach to religious reality, the Enlightenment was a major pivot point in the Christian engagement with religious plurality. In fact, it is clear that contemporary pluralist ideologies are direct descendents of Enlightenment thought. He writes, "there have not been...any self-pronounced pluralists among Christian theologians before the time of the Enlightenment" (107), and "the momentous shift in thinking and the beginning of radical polarization happened with the advent of modernism in the aftermath of the Enlightenment" (108). As such, Karkkainen shows that the "mainstream view of the Christian church" (166) has been either Christocentric inclusivism or exclusivism. It is therefore refreshing to see that he devotes a smaller section of his book to the pluralist viewpoint.

Fourth, noting the increasing dissatisfaction with the old "exclusivism, inclusivism, pluralism" taxonomy, Karkkainen presents a new "orientation" to the study of theologians of religions. The range of views typically called "exclusivist" he calls "ecclesiocentric," "inclusivist" views he calls "Christocentric," and pluralist views he calls "theocentric/realitycentric" (165-173). He argues that the old taxonomy focuses too much on the question of salvation, and tends to set up the views in opposition to one another. He feels that his new taxonomy "helps widen the focus," while allowing the views to be seen in their "continuity." Based on the definitions he gives, his new orientation allows the student to see various approaches to religions in a new light.

However, in some ways, Karkkainen's taxonomy has only replaced confusion with more confusion. First, why has he replaced a tripartite taxonomy for another? If the desire is to increase clarity among the range of views, 3 typical views seems to be unnecessarily limiting. Second, most who read "ecclesiocentric" will think of the Roman Catholic view "extra ecclesiam nulla salus - outside the church no salvation," though Karkkainen tries to distance himself from this view (167). At least among evangelicals, the accent is not on what could be called "church only" exclusivism, but on "Christ only" exclusivism. Karkkainen seems to forget that since the Reformation, most Protestants have insisted that it is not membership in any church that saves, but explicit faith in Jesus Christ. This is a Christocentric view if ever there was one! While the church is significant in such a view, it will certainly seem strange to its proponents to find themselves labeled "ecclesiocentric." Finally, it would seem that proponents of all three views would like to think of themselves as "theocentric."

Fifth, Karkkainen, perhaps unintentionally, has marginalized the Bible in his study. The biblical section occupies 15 pages of the total volume. By contrast, post-Enlightenment ecclesiastical approaches and theologians occupy over 260 pages. Perhaps this is because, in Karkkainen's view, "no comprehensive solution to this issue [Christianity's relationship to non-Christian religions] can be found in the Bible, but it does offer some leads" (33, quoting Senior and Stuhlmueller). He also points out that "merely referring to `the biblical view' is highly problematic" (50). While it is true that the Bible in no way works out a systematic theology of religions, it can be argued that the "leads" of the Bible do in fact lead somewhere, namely, toward comprehensive solutions. That there is not a singular view or solution should not cause anyone to sideline the biblical testimony as ambiguous (32). In fact, the very complexity of the biblical teaching on other religions argues for its comprehensiveness. After all, religions are complex phenomena. This is where Karkkainen's lack of a comprehensive look at the Bible comes in. Any Christian theology of religions must deal not only with a few biblical case studies where people in the Bible encountered plurality, nor merely with "themes" like "universalism and particularism," but also with the biblical teaching on creation, revelation, salvation, salvation history, mission to all nations, and the church. While Karkkainen has admirably captured a few biblical "leads" (33), there is much more that can be and should be said regarding the biblical testimony.

Sixth, despite the fact that such a study must be very selective, the reader should take note of certain voices that are missing from Karkkainen's discussion. First, since Christianity's long encounter with other faiths is in part a function of its missionary character, it would have been nice to see more missionary voices included. As it is, with a few exceptions, the volume is dominated not by "voices from the field," but "voices from the study." Second, since the fastest growing churches in the world today are in the Pentecostal and Charismatic stream, it would have been nice to see more voices from that tradition. Finally, since the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches have long lived as minorities in the midst of other faiths, it is regrettable (Karkkainen also admits this) that more voices from these traditions are not heard in his study.

In spite of these cautions, let it be reiterated that An Introduction to the Theology of Religions is a helpful contribution to a growing field of study. It should prove useful for teachers and students alike for many years to come.