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Summary
- Jesus says, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6), and Peter tells the Jewish council that “there is salvation in no one else” (Acts 4:12).
- Other passages include 1 Timothy 2:5, “one mediator between God and men,” 1 John 5:12 and John 10:9.
- The Catholic Church teaches that all salvation comes through Christ and his Church, and that people who through no fault of their own do not know the Gospel can be saved (Lumen Gentium 16).
- Exclusivist Protestants, following statements such as the Westminster Confession and the Lausanne Covenant, hold that a person must hear the gospel and believe in Christ to be saved.
- Inclusivists such as C.S. Lewis and Clark Pinnock hold that Christ is the only Savior but that some may be saved through him without knowing him.
- Pluralists such as John Hick reject the claim that Jesus is the only way; Catholic teaching and the Lausanne Covenant reject pluralism.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations from the English Standard Version: John 3:3, 16, 36; 10:9, 30; 14:2–6, 9; Acts 3:2; 4:7–12; 10:35; Romans 2:15; 5:2; 10:14; Ephesians 2:8–9; 1 Timothy 2:4–6; 1 John 5:12; Matthew 7:14, 21; Luke 24:44.
- Justin Martyr, First Apology, chapter 46, in Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0126.htm
- Cyprian of Carthage, Letter 72, in Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/050672.htm
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 846–848. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P29.HTM
- Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium (1964), paragraphs 14 and 16. https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html
- Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Dominus Iesus (2000), paragraphs 14 and 22. https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000806_dominus-iesus_en.html
- “Anonymous Christian,” Wikipedia, on Karl Rahner and the criticism by Hans Küng. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_Christian
- Kallistos Ware, The Orthodox Church, chapter 16, as quoted in “We don’t know where the Church is not?”, Follow the Saints. https://followthesaints.com/blog/we-dont-know-where-the-church-is-not
- Westminster Confession of Faith (1646), chapter 10.4. https://www.opc.org/wcf.html
- The Lausanne Covenant (1974), section 3, “The Uniqueness and Universality of Christ.” https://lausanne.org/statement/lausanne-covenant
- “Lausanne Covenant,” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lausanne_Covenant
- C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, book 2, chapter 5, “The Practical Conclusion,” as quoted by the Christian Research Institute. https://www.equip.org/articles/beyond-mere-christianity/
- Clark H. Pinnock, A Wideness in God’s Mercy: The Finality of Jesus Christ in a World of Religions (Zondervan, 1992). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark_Pinnock
- John Hick, God and the Universe of Faiths (1973), as summarized in “John Hick,” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hick
