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12
September 21 2006
JN
Stumped
C
rank up the Popemobile, give
the engine a tune-up, clean
the bulletproof windshield
— the new guy's gonna need it.
It seems that Pope Benedict XVI
upset the Muslim world last week by
referring to a conversation between a
Muslim cleric and a Christian theolo-
gian that occurred 615 years ago.
Never mind that the speech to theo-
logical academics at the University of
Regensburg in Germany on Sept.12
mainly covered Christianity, Greek phi-
losophy, science and reason.
"It is still necessary and reasonable
to raise the question of God through
the use of reason, and to do so in the
context of the tradition of the Christian
faith," he said, referring to the 14th
century conversation between,"the
erudite Byzantine emperor Manuel II
Paleologus and an educated Persian on
the subject of Christianity and Islam,
and the truth of both."
The "discussion" — which takes
up 600 words in the pon-
tiff's 3,880-word speech
— is published in a book
by Professor Theodore
Khoury and involves violent
conversion and holy war.
The emperor questions why,
according to the Quran, •
Muhammad commanded
"to spread by the sword the
faith he preached."
"To convince a reasonable
soul, one does not need a
strong arm, or weapons of
any kind, or any other means of threat-
ening a person with death," the emperor
added.
According to the pontiff, Khoury
observed that "for the emperor, as a
Byzantine shaped by Greek philosophy,
this statement is self-evident. But for
Muslim teaching, God is absolutely
transcendent. His will is not bound up
with any of our categories, even that of
rationality"
As far as I can tell, Pope Benedict
uses other examples, the burning
bush story in the Torah, Gospels, the
Reformation, metaphysics and science
to make his real point: why theology
belongs in a university setting.
C, ... Theology rightly belongs in the
university and within the wide-rang-
ing dialogue of sciences, not merely as
a historical discipline and one of the
human sciences, but precisely as theol-
ogy, as inquiry into the rationality of
faith;' he said towards the end of his
speech. "Only thus do we become capa-
ble of that genuine dialogue of cultures
and religions so
urgently needed
today.
"In the
Western world
it is widely held
that only posi-
tivistic reason
and the forms
of philosophy
based on it are
Pope Benedict XVI
universally valid.
Yet the world's
profoundly religious cultures see this
exclusion of the divine from the uni-
versality of reason as an attack on their
most profound convictions. A reason
which is deaf to the divine and which
relegates religion into the realm of sub-
cultures is incapable of entering into
the dialogue of cultures."
So, using a 14th century conversa-
tion as an example to make a case
for dialogue and reason
between religions has pro-
duced the same response
as if the pontiff himself
was discovered drawing
Danish cartoons mocking
Muhammad.
Protests and effigy burn-
ings in Egypt and India,
began breaking out on
Sept. 15, along with strong
condemnations from lead-
ers in Gaza City, Turkey,
Syria, Lebanon and Kuwait
Pakistan, which most recently made
headlines by announcing a peace treaty
with the Taliban, officially condemned
the remarks by passing a resolution in
its National Assembly.
These words and actions will no
doubt grow, and we will see it all.
Outraged Muslim extremists will riot
in the streets, burn things and chant,
"Death to America" and "Death to
Israel" — because we all know the Pope
lives in Cleveland and winters in Tel
Aviv.
And all the while, their moderate
brethren will shrug their shoulders,
make excuses and state that the vio-
lence is "overblown" and part of the
grander scheme to make Islam look like
a violent religion.
And I'll wonder when the day will
come when the extremists — of all
kinds — will concentrate on their own
prayer long enough to put their weap-
ons down.
❑