In a naked attempt to grab your attention (since I know how few would naturally read a book review), I will say that this book is the best book I've read in the past couple of years. To intrigue you even further, I actually mean that! "Best" is a relative term I suppose, but what I mean by it is that I found myself in strong agreement AND my mind thoroughly provoked through the course of reading. To add to the matter, Pinnock passed on to be with the Lord mid-reading and that, perhaps, made it seem even more inspiring.
In The Wideness of God's Mercy, Pinnock is basically asking the question of what God will do (in terms of salvation) with those people who are from non-Christian religions (the majority of the world) and those who have never even heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His attempted answer hopes to avoid 2 extremes. The LEFT extreme answers the question by insisting that God will save many (or all) people with or without Jesus. The RIGHT extreme answers the question by insisting that only those who have come to acknowledge Jesus as Savior and Lord can be saved by Jesus. Pinnock's answer, to put it most briefly, is that some people may (and will) be saved by Jesus even though they have misinformation (or no information) about Him. In light of this, Pinnock thinks many (but not all) will be saved instead of a few.
The book is made up of 5 chapters. I will attempt (below) to give a very concise summary.
Chapter 1 argues that Christians should be more optimistic about how many people will be saved based on the theological truth that God is generous. We have plenty of biblical evidence that people outside of God's election (Israel) were truly followers of God. Election, for Pinnock, is not about individual salvation but group vocation.
In chapter 2, in case the previous chapter made conservatives anxious, he assures them that he's still talking about salvation through Jesus Christ alone. He states, "there is no salvation except through Christ but it is not necessary for everybody to possess a conscious knowledge of Christ in order to benefit from redemption through Him" (75). Pinnock truly believes that prevenient grace has gone out to all the world and has been responded to in one way or another.
Chapter 3 discusses how we should think of modern day religions. Are all religions false? Are all true? Is 1 true? Pinnock denies all three of these positions and, instead, argues (basically) that Jesus is true and religions are either near or far from Him. In general, all religions have good and bad attributes, just in differing degrees. "There is enough truth in most religions for people to take hold of and put their trust in God's mercy. The religion may help or hinder-- but ultimately it is what the person decides that counts" (111). God is more interested in faith that doctrinal content (this sounds more universalistic than Pinnock actually is when you read the whole book).
Chapter 4 argues that Christ can transform religions just like He can transform any other area of culture. Religions are always undergoing transformation and Pinnock suggests that some of this transformation is the result of God's work. We should be involved in truth seeking dialogue with non-Christians b/c all truth is God's truth. Jews need to re-evaluate Jesus. Muslims need to re-think God's generosity and be honest about the Koran and its origins. Hindus must re-discover meaning and contemplate how their doctrines affect the poor. Buddhists must take seriously the religious instincts of humanity. Finally, Christians must become more humble, recognizing that we know only in part and are still growing in Christ (and therefore in truth).
Chapter 5 deals specifically with those who have never even heard of Jesus Christ. Can they be saved? And if so, how? Pinnock bluntly states, "It is not so much a question whether the unevangelized know Jesus as whether Jesus knows them... the issue God cares about is the direction of the heart, not the content of theology" (158). Those who respond to the light they've been given may be given more light, but if they die prior to that, they will be judged accordingly. This reality does not leave us without motivation for missions since our mission was never to declare bad news (hell), but to declare good news (The Kingdom of God and eternal life).
If anyone is still reading this review, you might be thinking: "Matthew has done such a wonderful job of summarizing this book, so I probably don't even need to read it now!" Indeed, I have done a wonderful job
But there is plenty more worth chewing on in Pinnock's book. It's a quick read b/c he has such a good writing style. If nothing else, read it as a tribute to the late Clark Pinnock, an open-minded and open-hearted Christian.