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Interview With Father José Galindo Rodrigo
VALENCIA, Spain, 23 OCT. 2006 (ZENIT) Christianity does not belong to
Christians, but rather is the property of Christ, "who wills to save
everyone," says the author of a book on religious pluralism.
Father José Galindo Rodrigo, an Augustinian Recollect, wrote "The
Powerful Saving Force of Christ: A Guide for Christians Given the
Present Religious Pluralism," published by the Trinitarian Secretariat
of Salamanca.
The priest, who teaches theological anthropology at the University of
Valencia, shared some of his insights with ZENIT.
Q: Does present-day religious pluralism blur the saving power of Christ?
Father Galindo: Present-day religious pluralism exactly as it is often
conceived, indeed blurs the saving power of Christ. If one thinks that
all religions save, then Christ is diminished. But to equate, when
things are not equal, is an injustice and an error.
Q: Other religions are also God's instruments of salvation. How are they
reconciled with Jesus Christ, sole personal cause of salvation of the
whole of humanity?
Father Galindo: Other religions are also God's instruments of salvation,
because having truths and values, according to several documents of the
Church, they can serve, and in fact serve so that God can save faithful
of those religions though always through the merits of Christ, who is
the only Savior of all.
The founders of the great religions are teachers, and in a certain
measure, models for humanity
—
Lao-tzu, Buddha, Krishna, Mohammed, etc.
But solely and exclusively, Christ, in addition to supreme teacher and
perfect model, is the savior of the whole of humanity in general and of
each and all human beings in particular.
Religions, no matter which they are, and Christ are not on the same
plane. Religions, including the Christian, are means or instruments,
whereas Christ is the personal cause of salvation. It is the individual,
the person whom he saves
—
salvation is the action of a personal being
—
making use of those means or instruments which religions are.
The one who saves is unique, Christ, while the means of which he makes
us, some better than others, can be and are several and different, and
the different religions are these means. Both truths are reconciled if
we speak of religions and of Christ with precision.
Religions don't save
—
none of them
—
but rather are instruments of which the only personal agent, Christ,
makes use to save. However, it is not correct either to say that
religions are foreign to the event of the salvation of human beings, as
they are means or instruments of it, given their truths and values.
Q: An equalitarian religious pluralism
—
"All religions are valid"
—
is as dangerous as an absolute exclusivity
—
"Only Christianity is right and other religions don't contribute
anything." How do you think a balance can be found?
Father Galindo: An equalitarian or undifferentiated pluralism is
erroneous, as it is obvious that not all religions are equal.
Moreover, this would imply falling into the error that Christ, being the
Son of God, has not founded a religion that is superior to the others,
which implies that Christ either was not serious in founding
Christianity or that he is not God. The former is absurd, while the
latter is a heresy for a Christian.
Absolutism is not correct either in affirming that only Christianity is
right, because the great religions coincide in some things
—
truths and values
—
with Christianity. ...
Q: Might the new name of "interreligious dialogue" be to consider other
religions as "valid" in promoting values?
Father Galindo: As Benedict XVI is highlighting, and John Paul II also
did, religions must be allies in many important things for the good of
humanity.
In time, I hope that Christ will be ever more known by very many people
who will end by being better followers of his then those of us who now
say we are Christians. ZE06102324
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