The Church in Dialogue: From Self-Delusion to Vulnerability

Abstract

A survey of Christian attitudes to other religions since the 1893 Chicago World's Parliament of Religions is followed by a discussion of factors that have forced (Western) Christians to reevaluate their traditional stance in this regard. Different approaches (such as those of Farquhar, Rahner, and, more recently, Knitter) are briefly surveyed. The author suggests that most “solutions” to this problem may be too neat and opts for the “paradox of asserting both ultimate commitment to one's own religion and total openness to another's religion.” We cannot limit God to our understanding and experience of God. With this partial understanding and experience, we enter into dialogue with others, “but we do so with conviction and commitment.”