Authentic Religious Pluralism

One other important idea Borg brings up has to do with religious diversity. As the world grows smaller and smaller and we all become more and more connected, increasingly it becomes apparent that there is a great deal of truth and goodness to be found in all religions. Although traditional formulations within Christianity and most other world religions have made claims to have the "exclusive" or "complete" truth on their side, a healthier, less rigid approach seems to ring truer. As Borg puts it:

"Religion's purpose is to mediate the sacred and, by so doing, to inform, engender, and nourish a transforming relationship to 'the More.' The enduring religions share these characteristics in common. Each is a massive and magnificent sacrament of the sacred, a finite means of mediating the sacred, a 'treasure in earthen vessels'" (215).

As Borg also points out, however, this doesn't mean that "anything goes" or that differences don't matter. Rather, a healthy approach to religious diversity recognizes the differences among traditions and respects the need for each of us to have a "path" or tradition that we participate in - not so much because it or any other is "right," to the exclusion of other paths, but rather because the discipline of following one path or way ultimately changes us and shapes us into people of compassion and mercy who seek justice for the least among us and who grow in our awareness of the depth and reality of God's love and goodness.

Peace,
Padre Chuck