“In the course of history,” wrote the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in his The Dignity of Difference, “God has spoken to mankind in many languages: through Judaism to Jews, Christianity to Christians, Islam to Muslims.” To some of his Orthodox readers, this statement seemed a radical departure from traditional understandings of revelation. Indeed, in the second edition of the book—a powerful and humane defense of pluralism and particularism—Sacks reworded it. Gil Student, drawing on an array of ancient, medieval, and modern rabbinic sources, argues that the original formulation rests on grounds that even the most strictly Orthodox reader should see as solid:
Even though God has a special relationship with the Jewish people, He still cares about and maintains a relationship with Gentiles. [Rabbinic sources attest that] God used to speak to Jews and Gentiles through prophecy and other sub-prophetic means. . . . Man can interpret God’s speech with a genuine effort, but his understanding will always be limited by his knowledge and abilities. Even when God speaks to Christians and Muslims, they filter the message through their own experiences and knowledge.
Yet, Student adds, one need not go quite so far to support Sacks’s claim. Take the argument articulated, most famously, by Moses Maimonides (1138–1204):
Through the tools of providence, God could be guiding humanity to an ultimate goal, using those religions as tools to bring people closer to truth. Those religions are a step from the chaos and paganism of the ancient world to the pure monotheism of the future world. These religions orient people toward family, community. and stability, and to some degree toward the Bible. If this is the case, then God speaks via divine providence to Christians through Christianity and Muslims through Islam. [As Maimonides puts it], “the entire world has already become filled with the mention of the messiah, Torah, and commandments.”
More to the point, we see today how atheism and secularism break down community and family, and raise uncertainty about everything in life, including gender. These are biblical concepts of family, community, and identity that once seemed obvious but now are being preserved mainly by religious communities, including non-Western religions. Even idolatrous religions can preserve basic biblical notions and institutions.
Read more on Torah Musings: https://www.torahmusings.com/2022/11/rabbi-sacks-religious-pluralism-a-halakhic-and-hashkafic-defense/