Last fall, militant Italaian atheist Piergeorgio Oddifreddi wrote Dear Pope, I'm Writing to You. Odifreddi later said he was particularly surprised that Benedict read his book from cover to cover and wanted to discuss it, as it had been billed as a “luciferian introduction to atheism.” He should not have been so surprised, had he known his man.
Odifreddi's book was a critique of certain arguments and lines of thought found in Benedict’s theological writings, beginning with his 1967 volume Introduction to Christianity, and including his book Jesus of Nazareth, which he wrote as pope, both of which I have profited from enormously.
“My
opinion about your book is, as a whole, rather mixed,” B16 said. “I profited
from some parts, which I read with enjoyment, but in other parts I was
astonished at a certain aggressiveness and thoughtless argumentation.”
He noted
that, several times, Odifreddi refers to theology as science fiction, and he
says that, in this respect, he is “surprised that you feel my book is worthy of
discussion.” Nice.
Benedict
made the case for theology with four points.
Firstly:
“Is it fair to say that ‘science’ in the strictest sense of the word is just
math? I learned from you that, even here, the distinction should be made
between arithmetic and geometry. In all specific scientific subjects, each has
its own form, according to the particularity of its object. What is essential
is that a verifiable method is applied, excluding arbitrariness and ensuring
rationality in their different ways.”
Second,
he says that Odifreddi should “at least recognize that, in history and in
philosophical thought, theology has produced lasting results.” As a history teacher I think one of these was the fall of the Soviet Union....
Third, he
explained that an important function of theology is “to keep religion tied to
reason and reason to religion.” Both functions, he added, “are of paramount
importance for humanity.” He then refered to his dialogue with the atheist and sociologist Jurgen Habermas, in which he showed that there are
“pathologies of religion and, no less dangerous, pathologies of reason.” That there are the latter needs no reiteration.
“They
both need each other, and keeping them constantly connected is an important
task of theology,” he added.
Fourth,
Benedict says that science fiction exists in the context of many sciences. He
explains that he sees science fiction in a good sense when it shows vision and
anticipates “true knowledge.” This is “only imagination,” he says, “with which
we search to get closer to reality,” and he adds that a “science fiction
[exists] in a big way just even within the theory of evolution,” refering to
the work of atheist Richard Dawkins. "The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins is a classic
example of science fiction,” The Pope said, and he recalled how the French Nobel Prize
winner and molecular biologist Jacques Monod inserted sentences into his work
that, in Benedict’s view, could only have been science fiction.
What
dazzled me most was the Pope Emeritus’ reference to areas of convergence in
Odifreddi’s book with Benedict’s own thinking. “Even if your interpretation of
John 1:1 [In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God] is very far from what the Evangelist meant, there is a
convergence that is important,” Benedict said. “However, if you want to replace
God with ‘Nature,’ it begs the question: Who or what is this nature? Nowhere do
you define it, and so it appears as an irrational divinity that explains
nothing.” He added,
“....I want to especially note that in your religion of mathematics three
themes fundamental to human existence are not considered: freedom, love [emphasis added] and
evil.” “I’m
astonished that you just give a nod to freedom that has been and is the core
value of modern times,” Benedict remarked. “Love in this book doesn’t appear, and
there’s no information about evil. “Whatever
neurobiology says or doesn’t say about freedom, in the real drama of our
history, it is a present reality and must be taken into account. But your
religion of mathematics doesn’t recognize any knowledge of evil. A religion
that ignores these fundamental questions is empty.” Amen. And Amen.
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