"In orthodox theology "the emphasis is on God's revelation, not our response. The test for Christian doctrine is whether it is true to that revelation". Unless, of course, it is no longer believed that the writers of the Bible perceived God's revelation accurately. To focus on the human response as the basis for doctrine is a major shift in theological method and hermeneutics.
The substitution of human experience for Scripture as the authoritative source for doctrine and direction for Christian living. This is the reduction of "statements about God and alleged supernatural events merely to claims about man and his experience."
Theological pluralism by its very nature has to be satisfied with
When the Bible is no longer seen as the final authority for doctrine, faith, and life, other claims to authority are made—the authority of the church, or of religious experience, or of theological pluralism.
Theological pluralism suggests theological evolution, implying that the religious experience of today's believer is a much more mature faith than that of the Biblical writers, and that the thought of contemporary theologians is more reliable than that of the Biblical writers.
Theological pluralism sets itself up as the judge of all theological claims. It excludes as unacceptable all who dare to claim more than a tentative status for doctrine. Thus an approach which demands such wide tolerance is most intolerant of traditional orthodox views. It does not hesitate to engage in name-calling, using terms such as "fundamentalist," "reactionary," "divisive," "ignorant," "unsophisticated," and "traditionalist" to brand those who hold to unchangeable and absolute propositional truth.
Pluralism allows for contradictory theological statements to be credited with equal validity. Thus both of the following statements can be recognized as truth if the principle of theological pluralism is applied: "The Bible teaches that the seventh-day Sabbath, Saturday, is the day on which Christians should worship God."
Pluralism allows for contradictory theological statements to be credited with equal validity. Thus both of the following statements can be recognized as truth if the principle of theological pluralism is applied: "The Bible teaches that the seventh-day Sabbath, Saturday, is the day on which Christians should worship God."
"The Bible teaches that the Lord's Day, Sunday, is the day on which Christians should worship God." Yet both of these statements cannot be true because they are neither consistent nor complementary, but contradictory. One of them is false.
Theological pluralism inevitably leads to religious pluralism. That is to say, when the principle of pluralism is applied to the spectrum of the religious world it leads to the conclusion that Christianity is not unique among world religions.
Theological pluralism inevitably leads to religious pluralism. That is to say, when the principle of pluralism is applied to the spectrum of the religious world it leads to the conclusion that Christianity is not unique among world religions.
*Likewise it leads to the conclusion that the Seventh-day Adventist Church is not unique among Protestant churches. Thus pluralism threatens the very identity of the SDA Church."
Raymond Holmes