Virtue ethic foundations rather than Hell and heresy fears

From an article by Jake Doberenz at Pop Culture and Theology titled “Virtue Ethics and Moral Transformation in A Christmas Carol” includes something worth connecting to evangelicals and multifaith engagement by way of the idea of of virtue over fear. After describing the long history of the fear of Hell as a motivating factor, Debrenz writes:

"However, especially as belief in Hell is waning, it is time to consider other paths for moral transformation. Indeed, in our increasingly pluralistic and atheistic world, it’s time to consider non-religious paths to moral transformation. But more than that, we need a deeper ethic that what fear can offer us."

In my view it is time for evangelicals to move beyond concerns for eternal punishment for those in other religions. I’ve written previously about my disagreement with soteriology as the primary lens through which understand religious others (so much time has been spent articulating and debating the exclusivism, inclusivism, pluralism perspectives), and this includes a mention of the need to reconsider the meaning of the Gospel in narrative-historical perspective, as well as metaphysical interpretations of Hell. Instead, I suggest we need to shift to a virtue ethic where persuasion is one part of engagement, but where we also think more expansively and holistically to also consider neighborly and hospitable encounters. In other words, we relate to religious others not out of fear (both fear of them and possible worldview harm as well as fear for them in regards to Hell), but instead out of a virtue ethic.

I posted some of these thoughts above on Facebook and a HIndu friend and dialogue partner responded, asking whether such a thing was possible for evangelicals. My response is that it certainly is possible for bibliocentric evangelicals, and that I and others have been developing this hermeneutic and theology for some time. For example, consider the promise of cruciformity in multaith engagement.

What might our interactions with religious others look like if we move from fear to virtue?