The mainstream churches no longer say that non-Christians are condemned to hell. Does church teaching then really still deny salvation to everyone else?

There are many Christians with open and reasonable views. But as long as the doctrine holds that every person is born with original sin and only the sacrifice of the one sinless man can redeem him, it leaves no real room for other paths.

It is good that many Christians today meet other religions with respect. No one denies that there are liberal and reasonable voices in the churches. But the question is not what individual believers think. It is what the doctrine itself says.

At the centre of church teaching stands a chain of thought. Adam and Eve sinned, and this sin is passed on to every human being. A sinful person can only be redeemed if an innocent one dies for him. And according to this doctrine, only one person in all of history was without sin: Jesus. It follows necessarily that there is redemption only through him.

Whoever now says that people of other religions can also be saved must give up one of these links. As long as original sin and atonement through the blood of Christ remain the foundation, openness towards others stays a kind word but not part of the doctrine. One cannot hold on to both at once.

The Holy Qur’an sets a different standard. It rejects the claim that Paradise belongs to one particular group and asks for proof. What counts is who submits completely to God and does good. God looks at a person’s faith and deeds, not at the label he wears.

In this way we can speak honestly with one another: with respect for each other, but also with clarity about what a doctrine really means.