24
this, conceding that the Old Testament, especially, regards other religions as negative, bordering
on caricature.
45
But more recent commentary by Jacque Dupuis, professor of theology at
Gregorian University in Rome, echoes much more closely John Pauls admiration of other
religions. Citing Old Testament pagan figures like Meschizedek and Job and the recurrent call of
God to the nations, Dupuis contends that God is working salvifically outside his covenant nation.
Moving to the New Testament, like John Paul, he cites Pauls use of Greek poets and his
reference to the "unknown god" to show Gods self-revelation outside of Christianity.
46
What
Dupuis overlooks is that, in both the O.T. and in Paul, the hope for salvation is never found in
other religions. Whether God has revealed himself there is not the point. Salvation is found only
when the nations turn to YHWH/Christ. Moreover, John Paul must do more to explain how his
contention that non-Christians should be warned to abandon false gods while yet calling their
religions "participated forms of mediation" is not simply doubletalk. Recent Catholic theology
simply sees non-Christian religions in a much more favorable light than do the Scriptures.
47
To take this critique further, the strikingly positive evaluation of non-Christian religions
causes one to wonder, what is the danger of the "gravely deficient" situation in which these
religions find themselves? RM and DI suggest that the main danger is not loss of salvation, but
the inability to enjoy the blessings of salvation to the fullest in this life. So, while the RCC
denies being universalist, it is so nearly so, that it is no wonder theologians and missionaries in
45
Dulles, Avery. Models of Revelation. (Garden City: Doubleday, 1983) 174.
46
Dupuis 37-52.
47
Dupuis, who I believe represents the Catholic mainstream, contra Kung, takes this concept from the biblical
religions to current world religions. His theology of the universal saving revelation of the Logos, not simply
ensarkos, but especially asarkos, leads him to go beyond the "fulfillment theory" typical since Vatican II which says
that Gods revelation in Jesus Christ fulfills what is lacking in the inadequate paradigms of other religions--thus,
other religions are not technically a way of salvation--but salvation is gained by Gods gracious revelation of
himself in Christ in spite of the errors of that religion. Moving beyond fulfillment, Dupuis reasons, "It is legitimate .
. . to point to a convergence between the religious traditions and the mystery of Jesus Christ, as representing various,
though not equal, paths along which, through history, God has sought and continues to seek human beings in his
Word and his Spirit.