Introduction

Since the Second World War, large influxes of immigrants and increased global communication have completely changed Western society. The Western worldview and its system of beliefs have been challenged by a diversity of people who have brought different interpretations of religion and truth. The reaction was, and still is, that nobody should pretend to hold an absolute cultural or religious truth, but should embrace others’ point of view without belittling their thoughts. This is the cultural phenomenon called “pluralism” which dominates our cultural landscape. Yet the Church should not see pluralism as an enemy, since there are positive shades, and by understanding the new reality, we can preach the Gospel in a successful way, fulfilling Jesus’ great commission (Matt. 28:18-20).

Cultural and Religious pluralism

The Western world today is considered a pluralistic society where people of many ethnicities and different religions live together and share public life. This is the fact of pluralism which we are aware of because we experience it every day in our neighbourhood. As consequence of this fact we face an ideology that refuses to allow any religion or worldview to claim an exclusive hold on truth. In this milieu, Christianity has lost its position as the dominant religion becoming one of the many realities and consequently Jesus one of the many ways to God, not the only one.

It is important to make a distinction between cultural and religious pluralism. Cultural pluralism is a broader reality in which religion plays a big role but it is not the only aspect of a culture. In a culture exists language, traditions, life-styles, religion and so on. The point is that one can embrace or tolerate a tradition or a language because it is not affecting your personal belief but it is another thing, not just to tolerate, but to embrace another religion as truthful as Christianity. In a speech at the 1993 Parliament of World Religions, Swami Chindanansa of the Divine Life Society argued that all religions are to be valued equally because they are all equally valuable. This is the core message of the religious pluralism that our generation is encouraged to accept.

The Church and Pluralism

The Church should not fear this new culture because Christianity is already, and possibly the only religion, which is aware and cherishes cultural pluralism. The Bible itself was written in a pluralistic environment, both the Old Testament and New Testament. Christianity is a religion that was born in the Middle East then spread all over the world. Christianity is a real global religion. In the book of Revelation (7:9) we have the picture of people from every tongue, tribe and nation worshipping God before His glorious throne. The same should be for the Church to be aware first then to welcome cultural pluralism. On the other hand what should not been cherished by the Church is the religious relativity which pluralism demands us to accept. The New Testament gives us some hints of how to find the right balance in preaching the Gospel in today’s world.

The New Testament context

Jesus and the first century Christians lived as Jews under the authority of the Roman Empire, the cultural roots of which were embedded in Greek philosophy. Moreover, other mystical religions sprang up in the Roman Empire as well as traditional Greek practices. We can conclude that religious pluralism is not a peculiarity of our century but already in Jesus’ time there was a similar society. Nevertheless there is a relevant difference between first century Christianity environment and ours. First century pluralism was not impacting the world as much as today. The apostle Paul, together with other missionaries, moving from village to village faced many different cultures and religions which were not aware of each other as much as today. In fact, today we are much more aware of different worldviews surrounding us also facilitated by those people moving from all places towards the West, such as immigrants or refugees. A significant role is played by new technologies breaking boundaries and making everything much more available to us. So, today the whole Church is much more exposed to this pluralism and it might seem inevitable to embrace it. Yet, following the attitude of the first century Church, we can learn how to approach pluralism and present the Gospel.

New Testament communication of the Gospel

The New Testament was originally written in Greek because it was the language spoken and understood by the majority of people. Today it is the same with English and we have a great tool to use in communicating the Gospel in this pluralist context.

The apostle Paul faced pluralism in many villages he went into. In Lystra people called him and Barnabas Zeus and Hermes (Acts 14:8-18); in Ephesus Paul faced another pluralist society devoted to gods particularly to Artemis (Acts 19). Probably the best example is found in Acts 17 in which the apostle Paul faces the philosophers in Athens at the Areopagus on Mars Hill. Firstly, the apostle Paul is aware of the reality he is facing and he is not surprised. Pluralism was a reality for Paul even before going to Athens. Probably, there was no Jew in Mars Hill, so it can be the reason why the apostle Paul did not quote any Old Testament passages. Paul, seeing the altar of the unknown god, takes the opportunity to speak about the real God, Creator of the world. He also quoted philosophers of the time to reinforce his point about God. In the same way the Church should be aware of the pluralism philosophy, speaking their language, and still be effective, contextualising the Gospel without changing the core message. In fact, Paul speaks clearly about not being ignorant but to repent and worship the real God.

Like Paul, we should not shrink back from our culture but be involved in our biculturalism in which we know that our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20). However, it is also true that we remain people who live and act on earth with the goal to fulfil Jesus’ great commission. We are people with a dual citizenship, acting and affecting both realms at once. It is good, like Paul, to use pluralism for the sake of the Gospel. He could have refused to go to the Areopagus but he went because he had something to share with them. Equally, the Church should not shut its door and forget about the community around simply because they have a different religion. The apostle Paul felt the responsibility of his election in preaching the Gospel, and the Church should also feel responsible. The unknown god’s altar in Mars Hill is a picture of religious pluralism in which if you are not satisfied with the gods that are available, you can still choose your own god or create one according to your needs.

Contextualisation

Ed Stetzer defines contextualisation as an attempt to present the Gospel in a culturally relevant way. The New Testament gives us many examples of this in the ministries of both Jesus and Paul.  Jesus told many parables and used many examples relevant to His Jewish audience. The apostle Paul also contextualised his speeches according to his audience: towards Jews he started with scripture of the Old Testament (1 Cor. 10:1-5), with Gentiles he started with a general revelation about God (Rom.1:18-32). Paul clearly states that he becomes Jew in order to win Jews, and Gentile to win Gentiles. He has become all things to all people to preach the Gospel to them (1 Cor. 9:19-27). This is the attitude we should learn from the New Testament. It precludes that we know how to be relevant in today’s society. Pluralism allows it to be so because it is not restricted by any absolute truth so it gives voice to everybody exactly like the altar of the unknown god in Mars Hill.

Conclusion

Christianity is a unique religion which sees God Himself incarnate in Jesus Christ to save His people from sin and punishment offering eternal life. That’s the truth of the Gospel, and the Church is still involved in spreading it. No other religion portrays a God personally involved in salvation as such. This is why it is our responsibility and call to preach the Gospel in the social environment in which we live, contextualising the truth of Jesus Christ, using examples and methods that our generation can easily grasp, without limiting or impoverishing the message. In conclusion, pluralism is a dangerous philosophy to welcome in our churches but, handled wisely, it could become a useful opportunity to reinforce the truth of the Gospel as the New Testament shows.

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