Tim Keller, Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, New York, does a good job deconstructing the "elephant" analogy that people commonly use to argue the relativism of all religions. Tim Keller explains:
Pluralists contend that no one religion can know the fullness of spiritual truth, therefore all religions are valid. But while it si good to acknowledge our limitations, this statement is itself a strong assertion about the nature of spiritual truth. A common analogy is cited--the blind men trying to describe an elephant. One feels the tail and reports that an elephant is thin and flexible. Anoher feel a leg and claims the animal is
thick as a tree. Another touches its side and reports the elephant is like a wal. This is supposed to represent how the various religions only understand part of God, while no one can truly see the whole picture. To claim full knowledge of God, pluralists contend, is arrogance.
I occasionally tell this parable, and I can almost see the people nodding their heads in agreement.
But then I remind them, "The only way this parable makes any sense, however, is if you've seen a whole elephant. Therefore, the minute you say, 'All religions only see part of the truth,' you are claiming the very knowledge you say no one else has. And you are demonstrating the same spiritual arrogance you accuse Christains of."