Publication Date

1993

Abstract

When constructing a general description for "soteriology," one must be aware of the potential scope of the term. The word "soteriology" means "doctrine of salvation" or "way of salvation." Generally understood, one can speak of "soteriologies" and imply that there is more than one way to understand salvation, more than one doctrine of salvation. It should be noted that all religious systems do not share a universal soteriology. If soteriology is not universally understood, how may one study it? A particular religious system may hold that its contentions are singularly veridical and that other understandings are false, while another religious system may have a different, less rigid understanding of salvation. One might take a single religious system's understanding of salvation and test all other concepts of salvation against that "standardized" concept But the elevation of one religious system's understanding does not allow one to observe what is unique about other religious systems. The study of religions should assume that all religious systems can stand on their own. One must assume that everything is true.

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Religion

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