Back in August 2021, The Christian Post published an article with the dramatic title “60% of adults under 40 say Jesus isn’t only way to salvation; equal to Buddha, Muhammad.” The article includes the ominous subtitle: “Survey shows pluralistic worldview expanding rapidly among American Christians.” This is a classic example of what I call a […]
inclusivism
What Happens to Those Who Have Never Heard the Gospel?
I was recently interviewed by Cameron Bertuzzi of “Capturing Christianity” on the topic of salvation for those who have never heard the Gospel. You can listen to it here:
Do all adherents to non-Christian religions go to hell?
Let’s take a look at one of my recent, highly rigorous Twitter surveys: A question for Christians: Do all adherents to non-Christian religions go to hell? — Tentative Apologist (@RandalRauser) November 17, 2017 When I see results like this — and by “this” I’m referring specifically to that 53% — I wonder whether folks have […]
Do Christians and Muslims Worship the Same God? A Question Explored Through Sheep and Goats
It’s been about a week since Wheaton College political science professor Larycia Hawkins was launched into the spotlight after she was suspended by Wheaton College, in part because she declared: “I stand in religious solidarity with Muslims because they, like me, a Christian, are people of the book. And as Pope Francis stated last week, […]
If Malala had died, would she have gone to hell?
It has been one year since Taliban boarded a school bus in the Swat Valley and shot then fifteen year old Malala Yousafzai in the head. Her crime, as the world now knows, was daring to stand up to the Taliban in defense of education for all children and a plea to end the cycles […]
How can Christianity be the only true religion?
I was asked to share my thoughts on this question today, though as you can probably guess I’ve heard this one before. People often leap to the task of answering a question like this without first taking a breath and examining the question itself. But what does it even mean to ask if Christianity is […]
Inclusivism again: how we can be saved apart from hearing the gospel, and why the gospel still matters
In “If inclusivism is true does believing in Jesus still matter?” I presented an analogy for those who would argue that if knowledge of Jesus is not necessary to be saved by Jesus then we ought not proclaim Jesus. The analogy I gave was this. Healthcare workers are concerned above all with maintaining public health. […]
If inclusivism is true does believing in Jesus still matter?
My defense of inclusivism prompted Jason Thibodeau to comment: “If believing in Jesus is not necessary for salvation, then Christians should focus on the stuff that is necessary. Call that ‘having the appropriate relationship with Jesus Christ’ if you wish, but clearly this can be accomplish [sic] without believing in Christ.” Is Jason correct here? If […]
How to agree with a creed
This is a repost of a 2010 article I wrote for The Christian Post. In the article I address a reader’s question regarding the consistency of assenting to my denomination’s Statement of Belief whilst affirming the possibility of the salvation of those who have never heard the Gospel. It is important that the evangelical community […]
Are the missionaries bringing bad news? A misbegotten objection to inclusivism
In my article “Why inclusivism makes sense” I explained why, er, inclusivism makes sense. I defined “inclusivism” as the view that “cognitive awareness of Christ is not necessary for salvation by Christ.” Walter replied: “If the unreached are automatically saved, then missionaries are doing people no favors by statistically increasing their chance of experiencing an […]
Why inclusivism makes sense
This is a repost of an article I wrote in 2010 for The Christian Post. * * * A couple weeks ago I was arguing for inclusivism, the possibility of being saved by Christ without having heard of Christ. The question has important apologetic purchase, not least because people worry about the fate of those […]
Will the real Christian please stand up?
And so the discussion on Christian unity and Christian identity continues. I apologize for my spotty engagement in the discussion. On Friday I drove five hours to another city to teach a Christian worldview course Friday evening and all day Saturday. Too bad y’all weren’t there because one of the points I emphasized is the […]
“He said he would prefer to go to Hell…”
Here’s another golden oldie. This little number shot to the top of the charts in the summer of 09′. Now back digitally remastered and better than ever, here is “He said he would prefer to go to Hell…” *** Belief and disbelief are often more complicated than we would like to admit. Consequently, drawing a […]
A really bad argument against inclusivism
The argument is provided by W. Gary Phillips and R. Douglas Geivett when they offered the following objection to Clark Pinnock’s inclusivism: “the Christian’s motivation for world evangelism is at stake. When it is suspected that God will arrange for the salvation of others without our cooperation, there will be an understandable tendency for believers […]
