Religions are not the sort of realities that can easily be comparatively graded. Such a simplifying perspective would enormously diminish the rich diversity of religious paths that history has bequeathed to us. This is not to say that all religions are the same, or that they can be reduced to some common essence. But we are now beyond the time in our global religious evolution when we need constantly to be so exclusivistic. There is, of course, a considerable body of Christian opinion that still insists on a comparative devaluation of other religions. Such a comparison would be pointless and arrogant. Any singularity we may find in Christianity does not necessarily imply "superiority" to other faiths. Searching for distinctiveness, however, need not imply looking for ways in which Christian revelation might be better than others. A Christian understanding of revelation will become distinctive to us only if we view it in the context of other kinds of religious awareness. We cannot appreciate the Christian understanding of revelation unless we keep this wider religious world before us. In our own cultural context we call this mystery by the name "God." But peoples of other times and places have also experienced the breaking of mystery into their lives, and they have related to it, talked about it, and worshipped it through many different verbal and iconic designations.
Religion in its entirety can be viewed generously as the disclosure of a transcendent mystery.
The Conviction that mystery is revealed to us is not unique to Christianity and biblical religion. Haught Chapter 4: Religion and Revelation Mystery and Promise: A Theology of Revelationīy John F.
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