The twentieth century has brought forth unparalleled challenges
to the historic Christian faith. During this century,
Christianity's relevance and ultimate validity have been questioned
as never before. This assault on the central truth claims of
Christianity has come from two distinct fronts: atheistic secular
humanism and the growing climate of religious pluralism.
While secularism constitutes a significant threat, the issue of
religious pluralism poses an even greater challenge. The
technological advances of our century have resulted in a truly
global society. America in particular is a nation of diverse
ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds. Our nation is founded
upon the principle of toleration, particularly in the area of
religion. We are guaranteed the right of free exercise of religion.
This principle of equal toleration of religion is so strong, in
fact, that the worst name one can be called today is an
"intolerant religionist." What has happened, however, is that our
idea of democracy has been applied to ultimate truth. Equal
toleration of religion has been taken to mean that each religion is
equally valid (i.e., all religions lead to God). This is a fatal
_non sequitur._
People who argue that all religions are equally valid (i.e.,
metaphysically true) either know little about the various religions
or have given up reasoning in a logical fashion. A cursory study of
the world religions reveals the fundamental and irreconcilable
differences that exist. For example, some religions affirm
_monotheism_ (one God); others affirm _polytheism_ (many Gods);
still others affirm _pantheism_ (all is God). And this is just the
beginning of the contradictory statements made about God. According
to the most basic laws of logic (e.g., the law of
non-contradiction), these different views about God cannot be
ultimately true _at the same time_ and _in the same respect._
Logically, the three world views could all be wrong, but they could
not all be correct. Again, if we are persuaded that our religion is
true, then we are faced with this uncomfortable state of
exclusivity. But could there be another alternative?...
Source File: crj0074a.txt
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