ON CLAIMED "ORTHODOXY", QUIBBLING WITH WORDS, AND SOME SERIOUS IMPLICATIONS: A COMMENT ON THE TILLEY-D'COSTA DEBATE ABOUT RELIGIOUS PLURALISM

The article provides critical comments on three features of the recent debate between Terrence W. Tilley and Gavin D'Costa in Modern Theology. The use of the Vatican document Dominus Iesus as a parameter of “Christian” or even “Roman Catholic orthodoxy” is criticized as being presumptuous and highly questionable. Further it is argued that Tilley's and D'Costa's disagreement is less substantial than they claim and is largely rooted in contradictory statements within Dominus Iesus itself. Finally, it is held that their consensus in relation to the status of other religions displays an inability to overcome triumphalism and supersessionism, and entails, in line with Dominus Iesus, that other religions are “gravely deficient”.