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Pluralism does not mean all opinions are created equally. Pluralism does not mean all religious belief systems are different paths to the same ultimate destination. Pluralism does not mean a postmodern morass of factual irrelevancy and feeling supremacy. Pluralism does not mean it’s inappropriate to say, “I disagree.” Jesus followers have been enculturated to immediately think these things the moment they hear the word “pluralism,” but there is a deeper way. It is a path of faithfulness driven not by ideological advocacy or pragmatic necessity, but by The Way of Jesus.
All people are beloved children of God who are dearly made in God’s own image. This view of humanity is the truest reality and ultimate identity for anyone who professes to follow Jesus. It doesn’t matter if a person commits unspeakable acts against humanity like Adolf Hitler or denies God’s existence like Christopher Hitchens. It doesn’t even matter if the other person passionately disagrees about the validity of one’s own human dignity like David Duke. From a consciously Christian perspective, all people are beloved children of God possessing profound human dignity.
In seminary I took a course in world religions that focused on Islam. Our missiologist professor taught us a way of engaging other worldviews I’d never heard of before. It involved temporarily suspending all critical thought–analysis, assessment, evaluation, judgment, scrutiny–to mindfully pass over with a motivation of pure curiosity and empathy. The primary goals being observation, connection, and understanding. Only after having been enriched by this experience of loving otherness does the person cross back over and begin the process of critical thinking.1
For a Jesus follower, pluralism doesn’t have to mean an uneasy truce of agreeing to disagree. What it means is the radiating affection of grace. It involves rising above tribalistic loyalties to seek solidarity. It means loving your enemy and praying for those who persecute you. It’s a radical commitment to respecting other perspectives, seeking the common good, and working together whenever possible. It’s not about another half-ass “ism”: relativism, inclusivism, syncretism, etc. It’s about treating everyone with a basic level of human decency and seeing Christ in all people.
The original beatniks lived at the cutting edge of societal transformation in the post-WWII era. They exuded curiosity and relished the opportunity to engage a diversity of perspectives. Today we’re in the thick of it. For many Western Christians, this cultural pluralism feels threatening to the known way of life. I acknowledge it presents a myriad of challenges for our spiritual lives and faith communities but, to be honest, I mostly feel a beatnik-style excitement about it. It reminds me of the pre-Christendom world of the Roman Empire inhabited by the earliest Jesus followers.
First commend that which is commendable, then and only then critique that which ought to be critiqued.↩
