SOTERIOLOGICAL AGNOSTICISM AND INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE
Keywords:
SOTERIOLOGICAL, AGNOSTICISM, DIALOGUE, INTERRELIGIOUS, VATICAN IIAbstract
Christian Theology of Religions since Vatican II has focused primarily on the question of the salvific status of other religions. While it is generally accepted that non-Christians can be saved, there has been disagreement on the role of non-Christian religions in the process of salvation. However, the document Nostra Aetate is strikingly silent on that question. I propose that this silence might be taken as a reflection of the fact that one simply cannot, and therefore should not, from within the Christian tradition pass judgment on the salvific efficacy of other religions. This attitude of soteriological agnosticism, however,
does not in any way preclude productive and constructive dialogue between religions. On the contrary, it allows Christians to engage the teachings of other religions with the hope of encountering “rays” or elements of truth in that religion, but without worrying about what that might mean for the exclusive salvific claims of Christianity.
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