Pluralism: Is Jesus the Only Way?

While there are many attacks on Christianity today, one of the most popular ones is pluralism, the idea that all religions lead to God. This attack seems to fit well with the postmodernist thought of relativism, except pluralism focuses on faith, whereas postmodernism focuses more broadly on philosophy.

Like relativism which purports there are no absolute truths, and everyone’s truth is correct, Simple Religious Pluralism (SRP) operates under the assumption that everyone’s religious views are correct.¹ In today’s society, people embrace this thinking because they don’t want to offend anyone. They know that most religions are exclusive in that they state only those who follow them will meet God. Just as relativism is not a defensible philosophy, neither is SRP. Simple Religious Pluralism is a direct attack against Christianity as it denies the uniqueness of Jesus. This type of pluralism also denies Christian Exclusivism which, according to Alvin Plantinga, consists of two claims:

1. The world was created by God, an almighty, all-knowing, and perfectly good personal being (one that holds beliefs; has aims, plans, and intentions; and can act to accomplish these aims).

2. Human beings require salvation, and God has provided a unique way of salvation through the incarnation, life, sacrificial death, and resurrection of his divine son. ²

The Bible is clear that the only way to salvation is through Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself declares

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me,” (John 14:6 New Living Translation). Jesus makes it clear that He is the only way to the Father. The Apostle John also echoes this sentiment, writing, “He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world”(1 John 2:2). Finally, Paul wrote to the Church at Philippi, “Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names,” (Philippians 2:9).

Based on these three verses, one can see that Jesus is unique in that He is the only way to the Father, is the sacrifice that atones for sins, and has a name above all other names. Yes, Christianity is exclusive. This exclusivity does not make it false or intolerant. The problem with Simple Religious Pluralism is that it is self-defeating. If all religions are the same, then the God of Christianity is the same as the god of Islam and the gods of Hinduism. In fact, these gods would all be the same as the god of atheism, which is the belief there is no god. If God is the same as no god then there is a logic problem. Something cannot be the same as nothing. Once one starts to think logically about relativism and pluralism, the only conclusion that can be made is they are both logically impossible to defend.

¹ Paul Gould, Travis Dickinson, and Keith Loftin, Stand Firm: Apologetics and the Brilliance of the Gospel (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2018), 129.

² Alvin Plantinga, “Pluralism: A Defense of Religious Exclusivism,” in The Philosophical Challenge of Religious Diversity, ed. Philip L. Quinn and Kevin Meeker (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 173.