Julius Gaspar

Spiritual Olympics: the Pluralist Hypothesis of John Hick As a Springboard for Interreligious Dialogue Julius Gaspar

The essence of the pluralist hypothesis of John Hick is that just as there are many paths leading to the same mountain top, all the major world religions lead to the same Ultimate Reality. The Christian pluralist position views the other world religions as independent means of salvation, more or less equal to Christianity. This view has come under serious criticism from a variety of sources. The purpose of this thesis is twofold: first, it assesses the soundness of various criticisms of the pluralist view; and secondly, it creatively develops the pluralist hypothesis in response to some of these criticisms. The assessment of the charges brought up against Hick?s view show that while some of them are based on misunderstandings and possibly even misrepresentations of Hick?s thought, others point out certain weaknesses of the pluralist hypothesis. The steps I suggest in developing further the pluralist hypothesis are based on those criticisms that are valid and reveal genuine deficiencies in Hick?s thought. What emerges is a more ?believer-friendly? version of the pluralist hypothesis, which in its present form is perceived by many as incompatible with genuine faith.