What Is German Protestant Theology Saying About the Non-Christian Religions?

The following study hopes to serve as a stimulus to an ecumenical Christian Theology of the Religions by asking whether and how one segment of that theology is confronting the »other religions«. We will offer — from a »Catholic viewpoint« — a survey of present-day German Protestant attitudes towards the religions and weigh how these attitudes are clarifying the questions which are essential to a well-defined theology of the non-Christian religious world and to a theological dialogue with this world: What, if any, role do the religions play in the »history of salvation«? Can we speak of a genuine divine presence or revelation within the religions? And can this revelation be the basis for a faith-encounter with the Deity — i. e., for the attainment of salvation? — Or, more generally: must the Christian's attitude toward and encounter with other religions be basically positive or negative? And why? — What stance do contemporary German-speaking Protestant theologians take to all these questions