Inclusivism

[Reflection]

Inclusivism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I've always found this concept really interesting, and I was always supportive of it. Though now it's confusing me for whatever reason. Is it really possible to believe in all truths, or to coexist with interfaith dialogue? is it possible for this idea to be the spiritual choice of someone, a religion? is that sin?
and, could we ever truly know the answer to that question anyway?

A couple of books gave me this idea; first being Life of Pi (ohhh my goodness I love that book) and the other is this children's story called Old Turtle. :3

from that book ->

once, long long ago, yet somehow, not so very long, when all the animals and rocks and winds and waters and trees and birds and fish and all the beings of the world could speak and understand one another, there began an argument.

it began softly at first, quiet as the first breeze that whispered, "he is a wind who is never still."

quiet as the stone that answered, "he is a great rock, that never moves."

gentle, as the mountain had rumbled, "god is a snowy peak, high above the clouds."

and the fish in the ocean had answered, "god is a swimmer, in the dark blue depths of the sea."

"no," said the star, "god is a twinkling and a shining, far far away."

"no," replied the ant, "god is a sound and a smell and a feeling, who is very, very close."

"god," insisted the gazelle, "is a runner, swift and free who loves to leap and race with the wind."

"she is a great tree!" murmured the willow, "a part of the world, always growing and always giving."

"you are wrong," argued the island, "god is separate and apart."

"god is like the shining sun, far above all things," added the blue sky.

"no, he is a river that flows through the very heart of things," thundered the waterfall.

"she is a hunter!" roared the lion.

"god is gentle..." chirped the robin.

"he is powerful." growled the bear.

and the argument grew louder, and louder, and louder, until - "stop!"

a new voice spoke.

it rumbled loudly like thunder and it whispered softly like butterfly sneezes. the voice seemed to come from, why, it seemed to come from, old turtle. old turtle hardly ever said anything, and certainly never argued about god. but now old turtle began to speak.

"god is indeed deep," she said to the fish in the sea. "and much higher than high," she told the mountains. "he is swift and free as the wind, and still and soft as a great rock." she said to the breezes and stones. "she is the life of the world," the turtle said to the willow, "always close by, yet beyond the farthest twinkling light," she told the ant and the star. "god is gentle and powerful, above all things and within all things. god is all that we dream of, and all that we seek." said old turtle. "all that we come from, and all that we can find; god is."

old turtle had never said so much before. all the beings of the world were surprised and became very quiet, but old turtle had one more thing to say.

and then the author goes into everything about humans, and stuff. so yeah, pretty juvenile book or whatever but I think it's insightful; and it really outlines the idea of inclusivism.

just a bit of supporting thoughts:

"He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9

The Talmud states: "The righteous of all peoples have a place in the World-To-Come" (Tos. to Sanhedrin 13:2, Sifra to Leviticus 19:18), and affirms that the great majority of non-Jewish humanity will be saved, due to God's overwhelming mercy (BT Sanhedrin 105a).

"Those with Faith, those who are Jews, and the Christians and Sabaeans, all who have Faith in Allah and the Last Day and act rightly, will have their reward with their Lord. They will feel no fear and will know no sorrow." (Qur'an, Surat al-Baqara; 2:62)

A well-known Rig Vedic hymn stemming from Hinduism claims that "Truth is One, though the sages know it variously.", thus proclaiming a pluralistic view of religion.

Krishna, incarnation or avatar of Vishnu, the supreme God in Hinduism, said in the Gita: In whatever way men identify with Me, in the same way do I carry out their desires; men pursue My path, O Arjuna, in all ways. (Gita:4:11);

"The fundamental principle enunciated by Bahá'u'lláh, the followers of His Faith firmly believe, is that religious truth is not absolute but relative, that Divine Revelation is a continuous and progressive process, that all the great religions of the world are divine in origin, that their basic principles are in complete harmony, that their aims and purposes are one and the same, that their teachings are but facets of one truth, that their functions are complementary, that they differ only in the nonessential aspects of their doctrines, and that their missions represent successive stages in the spiritual evolution of human society." (The Faith of Bahá'u'lláh" in World Order, Vol. 7, No. 2 (1972-73))

"for whoever is not against us is for us." (NIV) Gospel of Mark 9:40.

it's funny, there is a lot of evidence for something like this; couldn't it have just been that all these gods are the same? just from different perspectives. perhaps this asks the question; what is god? i've been toying with the idea that it is just a word for love, and doesn't necessarily have to be an actual creator/being [but that's kind of off topic].

also, random comment.
I like that one of the supporters of inclusivism is C.S. Lewis, he is pretty much a genius imo lol. I think anyone who looks at his writing through a religious perspective can find tons of insight and answers.

uhhhh that's pretty much it

opinions? try to keep an open mind?
<3

[Gildragon]

I'm going to do something not a lot of poeple would do present the case with Biblical standpoint.


John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.


Exd 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.


Jer 25:6 And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.


now Muslims as you know Reflection follow the same story line of Abraham, but instead of Isaac to start their nation, it was started with Ishmael, Abraham's first son.

God told Abraham that Ishmael would also be a great nation and the nation of Ishamael and the nation of Isaac would be at war with each other.

thus the divide of Judaism -Islam

so the god Allah. that they are referring to is the same god, just falling into the line.

as in terms of all these gods being the same, the god of Allah is but there are also false gods which as you can see GOD the father has stated.

I don't think we can really make an argument FOR Inclusivism with this. especially with God's view on these other or "false" gods.

[Chevalier Sombre]

Relativistic Inclusivism, which asserts that an unknown set of assertions are Absolutely True, that no human being currently living has yet ascertained Absolute Truth, but that all human beings have partially ascertained Absolute Truth.

I find this idea holds at least a little merit, but I don't think it's impossible for a given religion to not have any truth in it whatsoever.

At the end of the day, there is only one truth. There might be different ways of looking at it, and it can change given the circumstances, but at the end of the day, it's only one.

Certain religions might hold part of the truth. One religion might hold all of it. It's possible that no religion has had part of the truth thus far at all.

[Nevermore]

I'm not a huge fan of relativistic truth. Seems self-defeating, but whatever.

I've always been a fan of traditional inclusivism. For example:

Rule Set #1 says that A, B, and C are true.

Rule Set # 2 says that C, D, and E are true.

There's no reason to say that the other is entirely wrong if there is some common ground (in the scenario, point C). I've always believed in the idea that there is some truth in everything (no matter how small, large, important, insignificant, etc.).

[Gildragon]

There's no reason to say that the other is entirely wrong

I'm not always leaning towards inclusivism, for this reason

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

In this Jesus is stating quite clearly that there is only ONE truth, and that HE is it.

i've been toying with the idea that it is just a word for love, and doesn't necessarily have to be an actual creator/being [but that's kind of off topic].

God is the spirit form of faith, hope, and love. this is why God cannot lie. whatever he says comes to pass. he is a God OF love. to imply that love is God would imply that the spirit of love is God, we know that this is not the case due to the verse.

"God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, and love, and a sound mind"

This may not have actually cleared anything up. God is love but is an actual spiritual entitiy we know this because the Bible clearly states his voice, and that it is separate from Jesus voice. "This is my son, in whom I am well pleased" aslo Jesus talking to his father. this brings up the point that since there is a father who is supreme for Jesus to talk to, God is that being.

[Nevermore]

Originally Posted by Gildragon

I'm not always leaning towards inclusivism, for this reason

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

In this Jesus is stating quite clearly that there is only ONE truth, and that HE is it.

Yes, the absolute (or entire) truth. That doesn't mean that others don't have part of it. It's nigh impossible to be wrong about everything. Now, I'm not saying that all belief systems are right because of it. I believe that one has the entire truth.

[Aucune Raison]

Similarities don't mean truth, it shows human nature. Certain story elements and guidelines work well.

[Square Ninja]

There is no one truth in life but many truths.

[Aucune Raison]

Originally Posted by Square Ninja

There is no one truth in life but many truths.

And many lies.

[mad cunt]

Eh, it depends.

[∞]

There might not be no meaning of life, but there certainly is a constant in it: Conflict.

[Forever Atlas]

I've met a few people that embrace this idea. They are some of the most confused people I have ever met :/

[Reflection]

Originally Posted by Forever Atlas

I've met a few people that embrace this idea. They are some of the most confused people I have ever met :/

LOL. Amen.