I'd agree with you, brandon, that there is a need for both.
There are things that need to be revealed to our minds through some kind of enlightenment in order to grow. In Christianity there is great emphasis on growing in the "knowledge of Christ". In life in general, we have crucial "aha" moments that propel us toward maturity.
However, and this is where salvation comes in, Christianity points out that mankind's greatest need is not more knowledge/ information, but to be forgiven-- to re-establish relationship with God and others.
And it is through this forgiveness/ salvation that real enlightenment can flow.
Here's how this works in regard to worldviews. I appreciate a lot of the insights I find in eastern religions (Buddhism most notably), but I think a fundamental aspect missing from nearly all variations of eastern religious branches is a lack of prioritizing personal relationship with God. In Buddhism, for example, God is abstracted into more of an idea or a force than a person. And the way we interact with ideas is through knowledge, through enlightenment.
But if God is more than an idea, but is a person (in fact, even more than a person, but not less) then we can speak of a
relationship with God. And if there is a inter-personal relationship, then there are things that are more important than just ideas.
To Buddhists (and Hindus to degree), the fundamental problem in the world is suffering. And suffering is brought on by desire. And the solution to the problem is being "enlightened" enough to eliminate desire. There is no talk of relationship, just acquiring knowledge and realizations.
To Christians the fundamental problem in the world is sin. And sin is just shorthand for "a broken relationship". Sin has created a breech in the relationship between man and God. So the primary solution is not having realizations about reality but being forgiven and having that relationship restored.
In short, I see a stress on both enlightenment AND salvation (forgiveness/restored relationship) in Christian belief, whereas in Eastern Beliefs I feel like there is no addressing of Salvation/ Relationship with God.
This is one of the reasons that I ultimately rejected Eastern philosophies/ world views. If there is a God, he can't be less than a person. An idea/force is qualitatively less than personhood I would argue. Personhood involves ideas and concepts, but goes beyond them into higher things. Brandon Stabley, for instance, can have an Idea, but an Idea can't have Brandon Stabley. Therefor, personhood trumps concepts, I would argue.
OK, this is getting long, but I guess what I'm saying is that Western Religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) make room for both enlightenment and salvation, whereas others don't.
And I think there needs to be both.
Lastly, I think it all comes down to what one thinks is the fundamental truth and goal of all of reality. Is it love? That's the answer that Christianity and traditional Judaism argue. Is it to be absorbed into one ultimate universal selfless existence? That's the goal of Buddhism's enlightenment. Is there no absolute fundamental goal or meaning of the universe? That's the conclusion of the atheist and some other positions.
Somewhat all over the board, but all of this holds together somewhat coherently in my mind at least
