Monday, March 01, 2004

Sider, and the problem of evil....

I think that Sider's article is a variation of the problem of pluralism. Take the example of one who believes that Christ is the way to heaven, but equally believes that one who is a good hindu also gets to heaven. Does that person make it to heaven? If not, what if a different person believes Christ is the way to heaven, but respects hindus for doing their own thing, and also believes that some hindus will make it to heaven. I guess what I am trying to get at is where is the cut-off. I believe that God is fully justified in placing the cut-off where ever He desires to, but I can see how non-believers would have a problem with this belief. I think Sider has hit upon something, and obviously, if one is a universalist, this problem does not exist. I do think that this is a relevant problem for evangelism and apologetics. Obviously John's Gospel tells us that no one goes to the Father but through Jesus, so revelation does tell us that only Christ can reconcile us to the Father. So Jesus is the only way to heaven, but how much can one believe in (or respect) the truth of other religions and still get to heaven?

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