John Hick, a well-known philosopher of religion and a theologian, is a Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Research in Arts and Social Sciences, Univ. of Birmingham UK, and a Vice-President of the British Society for the Philosophy of Religion and of the World Congress of Faiths. (For his books I’ve read, click on his name.)

John Hick has doctorates from Oxford (D.Phil) and Edinburgh (D.Litt), and honorary doctorates from Uppsala University and Glasgow University. He is an emeritus professor of both Birmingham University UK and the Claremont Graduate University, California. Amazon.com lists many books by him and several about him. For current information on this prolific philosopher, see the articles on his web site http://www.johnhick.org.uk/ (& click on “Articles”).

As for book 334, his most recent book, here are some informative quotes from his Introduction: “The chapters of this book are a collection of previously published articles, reports, and lectures centered on two themes, the search for truth, and the search for justice and peace.” …”The heart of true religion is not the religious institutions but religious experience.” …”There are in reality today two Christianities, one conservative, predominantly evangelical and including a large and powerful fundamentalist element, and the other liberal or progressive.” …”It is the more progressive individuals within Christianity who are able to engage in fruitful dialogue with people of other religions.” John Hick is a progressive Christian who goes beyond just tolerance of other religions to acceptance of them as authentic, culturally dependent approaches to God – he is a widely recognized advocate for true religious plurality. As he says in his Introduction: “But a bigger and more important issue [than religious relativism] is that of the relation between Christianity and the other world faiths. It is possible to have a relatively orthodox theology but to adapt it to acknowledge the equal authenticity of those other faiths. But this is not possible for conservative Christians, including both evangelical/fundamentalist Protestant Christians and Catholics who accept the position laid down in such Vatican documents as Dominus Jesus in 2000. These all maintain the unique superiority of Christianity. On this issue there are two Christianities, although they remain at present, albeit with increasing strain, under the same organizational umbrellas. It will be clear from the arguments in this book that I advocate the second Christianity.” …”This emerging second Christianity is a force for world peace. It has been well said (by Hans Kung) that there will never be peace between the nations until there is peace between the world religions. And I would add that there will never be real peace between the world’s religions until each is able to accept the equal validity of the others. This can only be done from within each faith community. I have tried here and elsewhere to point to the path along which Christianity can reach this goal.”

The 14 chapters in this book have titles that reveal his focus within each chapter: Ch 1 is Who or What Is God? Ch 2 is Mystical Experience as Cognition. Ch 3 is The Religious Meaning of Life. Ch 4 is On Being Mortal. Ch 5 is Reincarnation. Ch 6 is Believable Christianity. Ch 7 is Literal and Metaphorical Incarnation. Ch 8 is The Resurrection of Jesus. Ch 9 asks Is the Doctrine of Atonement a Mistake? Ch 10 is Christianity and Islam. Ch 11 is Apartheid Observed (1980). Ch 12 asks Is there a Global Ethic? Ch 13 is Mahatma Gandhi’s Significance for Today. Ch 14 is The Second Form of the Ontological Argument. Except for Ch 14 (which involves formal logic arguments that are relevant for philosophical/theological debates), I recommend all the other chapters as deeply insightful.

What John Hick has provided us with here in the first 12 chapters can be viewed as summarized versions of the main religious ideas he has worked towards during his career as a philosopher and theologian. Ch 11 and Ch 13 are offered as two anecdotal experiences involving issues of racism, intolerance toward others, and nonviolent resistance – issues that had great meaning for his own spiritual journey. Here are important quotes from two chapters. Near the end of Ch 6 (Believable Christianity) he says: “So I believe we have to radically rethink our understanding of the place of Christianity in the global religious picture. We have to face the fact that it is one path among others, and then reform our belief system to be compatible with this. This is the big new challenge that theologians and church leaders have yet to face. We have to become consciously what are called religious pluralists.” At the beginning of Ch 12 (Is there a Global Ethic?) he reminds us that the UN in 1948 gave its Declaration of Universal Human Rights, which is an important element of a global ethic. He adds “All of the long-lived cultures have thus far been religiously based. Within the world’s religions, at the most general level, there is the universality of what in Christianity is called the Golden Rule.” But his examination of various religions shows that their practical applications of Human Rights and their actions with respect to the Golden Rule are clearly not universal. He ends Ch 12 with: “So my conclusion is that a global ethic remains to be uncovered, and that to do this requires worldwide consultation going on beyond the present Western versions.”

Although much of the material in this book’s chapters repeats (in a summarized or a slightly revised form) much of what I’ve learned from reading his other books, I recommend this book very highly. I also suggest it would be a good place to start reading John Hick for anyone unfamiliar with his ideas.