Do Christians Worship the Same God As Muslims and Jews Do? The Larycia Hawkins Test Case
Jack Cottrell is a Christian professor and author of many books and articles. I know him personally as a professor within the Christian Church and Churches of Christ (non)-denomination of which I was a part of before my deconversion. I've run into a lot of defenders of Christianity like Paul Moser, David Marshall, Victor Reppert, Randal Rauser and others who have said what Cottrell disputes. They have said they worship the same god as Muslims do, by a different name. The aforementioned defenders do so to de-fang the bite of religious diversity. This is typical of what they say.
Well forget them all, Cottrell argues differently right here, and strange as it sounds I agree with him. Now enters Wheaton College, the college that is home to the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism. They agree with Cottrell since they're planning on firing professor Larycia Hawkins for saying Muslims and Christians worship the same God, what Paul Moser, David Marshall, Victor Reppert, and Randal Rauser have all said! Strange isn't it?
Perhaps Cottrell and Wheaton College are forgetting the problem of religious diversity which I stress, which these Christian defenders are responding to when making that claim? Religious diversity is real and deep and world-wide. To say they worship the same God helps minimize the problem of religious diversity but it's disingenuous coming from people who are not honest in defending their faith. To honestly admit they don't worship the same God raises the bar of religious diversity where it rightfully belongs. I see this as a stubborn dilemma Christians must face. Are they worshiping the same God, or not? If so, see what professor Cottrell says. If not, then admit the problem of religious diversity is real and deep and worldwide, and that it's a powerful defeater to the epistemology of a sect-specific Christian faith. Here is Paul K. Moser's response to this news:
Roger Olsen, Arminian theologian and author of several books, has a more nuanced view of this whole question in his essay on the matter. But noticeably lacking in it are any references to the Bible. There are a number of Biblical passages which seem to teach Christian exclusivism. (Just see John 3:16-18, 36; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; and 1 Timothy 2:5). It takes a great deal of gerrymandering to deny what they teach, but given the massive amount of world-wide diversity Christians feel compelled to find a way.
On Facebook Karl Gilberson linked to the story at Wheaton College. Then this:
Well forget them all, Cottrell argues differently right here, and strange as it sounds I agree with him. Now enters Wheaton College, the college that is home to the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism. They agree with Cottrell since they're planning on firing professor Larycia Hawkins for saying Muslims and Christians worship the same God, what Paul Moser, David Marshall, Victor Reppert, and Randal Rauser have all said! Strange isn't it?
Perhaps Cottrell and Wheaton College are forgetting the problem of religious diversity which I stress, which these Christian defenders are responding to when making that claim? Religious diversity is real and deep and world-wide. To say they worship the same God helps minimize the problem of religious diversity but it's disingenuous coming from people who are not honest in defending their faith. To honestly admit they don't worship the same God raises the bar of religious diversity where it rightfully belongs. I see this as a stubborn dilemma Christians must face. Are they worshiping the same God, or not? If so, see what professor Cottrell says. If not, then admit the problem of religious diversity is real and deep and worldwide, and that it's a powerful defeater to the epistemology of a sect-specific Christian faith. Here is Paul K. Moser's response to this news:
Roger Olsen, Arminian theologian and author of several books, has a more nuanced view of this whole question in his essay on the matter. But noticeably lacking in it are any references to the Bible. There are a number of Biblical passages which seem to teach Christian exclusivism. (Just see John 3:16-18, 36; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; and 1 Timothy 2:5). It takes a great deal of gerrymandering to deny what they teach, but given the massive amount of world-wide diversity Christians feel compelled to find a way.
On Facebook Karl Gilberson linked to the story at Wheaton College. Then this:
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